Pokemon Tano Platinum
by Nerdy McNerdface
Summary: Five Pokemon trainers brought together by fate. Each with their own secrets, backstories and flaws. One evil threat they must stand up against with their friends and acquaintances. How does this all play out? Through a lighthearted adventure across the Sinnoh region! Updates every Tuesday. (A Stat Trainers Fic - featuring Mira, Cheryl, Buck, Riley and Marley)
1. Part 1: A New Adventure!

Mira clutched the Poke ball her mother had given to her in delight. She had been told that today was finally the day she could become a proper Pokemon trainer, and she wasn't going to take the revelation lightly.

The young girl had been given her mother's Abra for her first Pokemon, as her mother had taught it Flash to keep her safe in the caves. It also knew teleport, so Mira could get out of a sticky situation if she wanted.

Currently it was hovering beside her in Wayward Cave, using Flash to keep the dark at bay.

Mira was bursting with excitement. A friend from the Pokemon trainer's school had said that one of the strongest Pokemon in the Sinnoh region, Garchomp, could be found in the form of its pre-evolution in Wayward Cave, and Mira had told herself that she'd catch one.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a sudden Pokemon cry ahead of her.

"Ok, Abra!" She told it, "show me what Pokemon is in front of us!"

Abra obeyed her command, gently floating in front of Mira.

There, in front of her, was what she recognised to be a Gible. It had a murky blue fin with a small crack in it, and small protrusions coming out from either side of its head. It's chin was a dark orange, and its mouth took up most of its body. Both pairs of limbs were very stumpy, and if Mira looked a little closely she could see small teeth in its mouth.

This right here was Garchomp's pre-evolution.

"All right!" Mira squealed in excitement, "Abra-"

Before she even had a chance to check its current moveset, the Gible began to shiver, as though it was panicked.

Of course, Mira, being a young and naive girl, simply thought it was a little cold.

She took out a Luxury Ball from her backpack. "Hey, do you want to get in this? It's the nicest Poke ball Mira owns. You'll be warm in there."

The Gible didn't pay attention, and ran away.

The young girl crossed her arms. "Well that's just rude-"

A sudden rumble startled her.

She looked around with the help of Abra's Flash. Nothing nearby her appeared to be causing any kind of commotion.

Another rumble.

She looked up at the ceiling.

From what she could see, it had large rocks hanging down from the roof (Mira couldn't remember if they were stalactites or stalagmites), and they were shaking slightly, as though they were about to fall at any minute.

Mira knew she should have ran.

But she was almost frozen in fear of them crashing down onto her and ending her Pokemon trainer adventure before it had even begun.

Suddenly, a crash behind her caused her to scream out in shock.

As she turned to look behind her, she saw a huge stalactite/stalagmite blocking her path back to the exit.

The next crash came from in front of her.

She turned back and saw another one blocking her path forwards.

Trembling with fear, she knew that there were multiple of them hanging from the ceiling that were probably going to cave in at any moment.

Mira knew there was no escape now.

She curled up on the floor in a ball in the hope that it would give her more of a chance of getting out of this without injury.

A sudden rumbling noise, coming from above.

Mira closed her eyes and turned away so as to avoid having to look at it.

Any minute now, it should hit her.

Any minute now.

The impact was being delayed by something.

Mira didn't want to look.

Then she remembered her Abra.

"Abra! Abra! Come to Mira!"

Before she could even try to open her eyes and see where Abra was, it had already teleported to her side.

There, it held her arm, and both of them vanished from the cave.

* * *

Cheryl hadn't known what to expect when she travelled to Eterna Forest that day.

She had simply gone there to train up her Happiny, and buy a few more potions while she was at it.

She hadn't expected to find a young girl with pink hair and a yellow backpack, passed out in the path, an Abra floating beside her.

Not knowing what else to do, Cheryl had taken the young girl back to her home in Twinleaf town. She had used her knowledge of health and healing to work out why the girl had most likely passed out (the adrenaline that she had located in her bloodstream, plus the lack of any other obvious wounds suggested shock), and tucked her into Cheryl's bed.

Now all Cheryl had to do was wait for the girl to wake up.

She spent ten minutes simply sat by the girl's side, but she quickly grew bored, and selected a book from her bookshelf and returned to the girl.

There she sat for about an hour, before a small moan surprised her.

The girl who she had been looking after was staring at the ceiling, consciousness regained.

Cheryl decided to ask the most obvious question first. "Are you ok?"

"M-Mira's fine..." the girl mumbled, "what happened?"

"To be honest," Cheryl replied in a soft voice, "I'm not sure either. One minute I was walking in Eterna Forest, next I was confronted with a fainted girl and her Abra. I knew you had passed out from the shock of something, but I wasn't sure what caused it."

The girl, who Cheryl assumed was named Mira, gained enough strength to sit up, albeit slowly and shakily. "Mira was in the Wayward Cave, before some stala...stala-"

"Stalactites?" Cheryl asked, "so to speak, pointed rocks hanging from the ceiling."

"Those," Mira continued, "they began to fall from the ceiling because they were old or... something. Anyway, Mira was close to getting hurt, but then Abra helped Mira get away!"

Cheryl nodded. "That explains a lot. Why you were in Eterna Forest, and why you had passed out from what I assumed to be shock."

Cheryl stood up. "Anyway, you're safe now you're in my house. The name's Cheryl, by the way. And I'm assuming you're Mira?"

Mira's mouth opened wide in surprise. "How did you work out-"

"You always refer to yourself in the third person. So to speak, you don't use the words 'I" and 'me" and use your name instead."

Mira paused, then slowly nodded. "Ah, that makes sense. Mira only does it out of habit, so Mira often forgets!"

Cheryl smiled. Mira was adorable.

Placing the book back onto the shelf, she turned to Mira. "So, are you going to leave now that you're feeling a little stronger?"

Mira shrugged. "Mira would, but Mira doesn't know this area well. Mira would love it if someone could show her the way to the nearest town!"

"Well, I guess I could..."

"Yay!" Mira cried out, punching the air with joy, "Mira has a new friend!"

Cheryl laughed.

Mira hopped out of the bed, before spotting her backpack on the nearby desk and wandering over to pick it up.

Suddenly, Mira realised something.

"Wait, where's Abra?"

"Don't worry about your Abra," Cheryl told her, "I called it back into its Poke ball. It's safe, don't worry."

Mira sighed with faint relief. "Phew. Anyway, come on Cheryl! Mira is ready to travel with her new friend!"

Cheryl followed the enthusiastic young girl down the stairs.

* * *

 _After an intense incident within Wayward Cave, young Mira found herself saved by a kind girl named Cheryl. After talking for a short amount of time, Cheryl agreed to take Mira to the nearest town since Mira doesn't know her current surroundings. What fate will meet the two girls? The journey continues!_

* * *

 **Hello, readers! This is the first part of a new fanfiction I'm writing based on a single concept - what if Pokemon Platinum's protagonist was replaced with the five stat trainers? From there, many ideas spawned, and what is here is the culmination of said ideas! I'm hoping to upload parts every Tuesday, so you can look forward to that - also, later parts will be longer than this one, just saying. I hope you enjoy!**


	2. Part 2: A Rather Blonde Surprise

Twinleaf Town wasn't exactly the biggest place in Sinnoh. To be more specific, it was one of the smallest.

Mira came to realise this as she hopped from one leg to the other, waiting for her forest-green haired travelling companion to get out of the door.

"Hey, wait up!" Cheryl called after her, "at this rate, I'll be the one following you rather than the other way around! This dress is hard to run in, you know!"

Mira couldn't help but grin.

Cheryl finally got out of her own home.

"My," she informed Mira, "you're an enthusiastic person. There's only one other person I know who could even try to beat out how happy you are right now."

Mira shrugged and laughed with the sheer excitement.

"And speak of the devil," Cheryl told her, "that person is right over there. If you want, you can say hi to him. He's one of the neighbours."

Cheryl gestured to a boy who looked to be about ten, running out of his own house like Mira had just done seconds ago. The boy had slightly tousled blond hair, and wore an orange-and-white striped shirt with sleeves that extended to his wrists. Around his left wrist was a bright orange device of some kind, mimicking a watch. His neck was surrounded by a soft, green scarf. His jeans were simple. He held a bag strap on his shoulder, with the brown bag hanging by his waist.

"Ok," Mira told her, "Mira is going over to say hello. He seems nice enough!"

Cheryl lingered by her door while Mira sped over to the boy.

"Hello!" Mira called to him.

The boy, who had been close to the town exit, paused and looked back at the young girl.

"Mira came to say hello! Mira is a friend of Cheryl's!"

"Umm..." the boy replied, "hi, I guess!"

Mira finally caught up to his location. "So, what is your name?"

"Barry," the boy replied.

"Barry is a nice name!" Mira told him.

The boy laughed a little awkwardly. "Thanks. So, why are you here today?"

"Mira is going on an adventure to see all of Sinnoh! Mira is going to collect eight Gym Badges and be crowned champion!"

"Aw, lucky!" Barry told her, "my mum won't even let me try to capture a Pokemon. I was planning on going out to try and reach Sandgem Town, where the famous Professor Rowan lives, to see if I could finally obtain one."

"Well..." Mira said, "Mira wishes Barry good luck in his goal!"

Barry grinned. "Good luck in yours too."

And there he turned back towards the town exit, and continued to the next route to try and succeed in his mission.

Mira turned back to see Cheryl walking up behind her.

"You two seem to get on very well," she said to Mira, "I bet that if you encounter each other in future, you might become even closer as friends. Anyway, it's about time we started off on this adventure, don't you think?"

Mira nodded. "Mira agrees with Cheryl. Mira wants to see Sinnoh with her own eyes, in an adventure with her new best friend!"

Cheryl smiled brightly, and together the two of them took the first step of one of the biggest and most important journeys Sinnoh had ever witnessed.

* * *

"So," Cheryl explained, "the route we are standing on right now is Route 201. If we follow the path to our right, we will be taking half a day's walk to Sandgem Town. If we turn left, we will be taking a few hour's walk to Lake Verity. Which way do you want to go first?"

Mira looked from the left to the right, carefully thinking over her choice.

It didn't take her long to decide.

"Mira wants to see the lake! Mira has heard that Sinnoh lakes are beautiful, but she hasn't seen a Sinnoh lake before, so Mira is going to go left."

"I'll do what you do," Cheryl replied to her, as they both began walking forward.

But just as they turned the corner, they became witness to a small commotion going on.

"I'm sorry, sir!" Barry said hurriedly, "but I do love Pokemon! Really!"

A man with a white moustache and similar-coloured hair looked down at him. "Hmm... let's see... you tried to run into the tall grass because you wanted to ask me for Pokemon... should I? Hmm... very well then! I will entrust you with your own Pokemon! But you'll have to promise not to endanger yourself anymore."

Barry looked up at the man, his shaken look completely replaced with a beaming smile. "Yes! I promise, Professor Rowan!"

The man whom Barry had called Professor Rowan chuckled at the young boy. "Very well. Dawn? Lucas? My suitcase?"

The two young teenagers who had been standing beside Professor Rowan nodded. The boy placed down a suitcase in front of Barry and undid the clips holding the lid and bottom together.

As he opened the suitcase, Mira could spot three Poke balls settled in the silky fabric that lined the suitcase, each one with a small tag attached to it.

"Feel free to take your pick of which Pokemon you want as your starter," the boy told Barry, before standing up and returning to his previous position.

Barry was stunned. He hadn't thought he was going to be this lucky in a long time.

At that moment, he looked around and spotted Mira and Cheryl quietly observing the situation.

"Hey!" Barry called out to them, "look at how lucky I've got!"

Then an idea struck him. "Hang on... why don't you two take the Pokemon I don't choose? That'd give them a nice home! Would you allow it, Professor Rowan?"

The Professor looked at Mira and Cheryl. "Well, I don't see why not. Come over here, girls. You can select a Pokemon too."

Cheryl grinned, while Mira squealed with pure excitement. Both of them rushed over to where Barry was kneeling down, looking at what Pokemon they could choose from.

"So," Barry explained, "we have the Grass-type Turtwig... the Fire-type Chimchar... and the Water-type Piplup..."

Mira knelt down beside him. "Why don't you bring them out of their Poke balls? Mira thinks it would be best if she saw what each Pokemon looked like before she decides."

Barry nodded. "That seems like a good idea. I'll let these two out, while you let that one out."

Mira picked up the one he gestured to, and released the button on the Poke ball. Then she threw it up into the air, while crying out, "Go! Turtwig!"

"Go, Chimchar!" Barry called out, "Go, Piplup!"

There, in front of the two girls, Barry, the Professor and his assistants, stood three Pokemon.

The Grass-type Pokemon, Turtwig, was pretty cute. It had a derpy expression on its face, and its feet were coloured yellow. The rest of its main body was light green, save for the brown shell on its back. What really made it cute, though, was the small twig-shaped protrusion coming from its head, which had two leaves stuck to it that mimicked a bow of some sort.

The Fire-type Pokemon, Chimchar, was equally adorable. It had wide eyes and a cute little smile, while its body was coloured various shades of orange - a lighter orange for its face, hands and stomach, and a darker orange everywhere else. A small fire burned from its lower back.

The Water-type Pokemon, Piplup, had just as many cute features as the others. Its eyes were unbearably cute. The back of its head was dark blue, and feathers of a similar colour extended down its back, almost mimicking a superhero cape. The rest of its body was light blue, and it walked on two yellow flipper-like feet.

The first out of the three kids to make their choice was Cheryl.

"That Turtwig is sooooo cute!" She rushed over to it and picked it up. The Turtwig cried out in approval.

Mira was next.

"Look at the Chimchar! It looks adorable! And its fire is awesome!"

Mira picked it up, careful to avoid its flames. The Chimchar gave a small hug in return.

"Well, I guess I get Piplup then!" Barry said happily, "I was thinking about choosing this one anyway, so I guess it worked out for all of us!"

The Piplup chirped with happiness.

As Mira hugged her newly-obtained Chimchar, she looked up at Professor Rowan and his assistants.

All three of them were smiling.

"Well," Professor Rowan told them, "it all worked out fine in the end. Lucas, could you pick up my case for me? It would be greatly helpful."

Lucas nodded, closed the suitcase and picked it up.

As Professor Rowan walked in the direction of Sandgem Town with his assistants, he turned his head back towards Mira, Cheryl and Barry kneeling on the ground. "I hope all three of you strive to become the best you can ever be!"

"We promise, Professor Rowan!" All three of them called back.

* * *

"Wow," Barry said with delight, "I've finally gotten my own Pokemon! You know what this means?"

Both Mira and Cheryl shrugged, too happy to be bothered to think of an answer.

"Battle!" Barry exclaimed.

Mira looked up at him. "Yes! Let's have a go battling each other's Pokemon to see how strong they are! Mira approves of this idea!"

"I think it sounds nice," Cheryl told them, "but I don't think it'd be that fair if Mira used her Abra in this battle, since Barry only has one Pokemon while Mira has two. I, too, have a second Pokemon, but I'd rather not battle."

Mira turned to Cheryl, a look of faint confusion on her face. "But why? Don't you want to see how strong Turtwig is?"

"I do," she explained, "but only once I've bought more potions. I don't enjoy having battles unless I know I'll have enough healing items to make sure my Pokemon are fine after, and I currently don't have any with me. It's a strange reason, I know, but I can't stop myself from disliking it. Feel free to battle all you want. I'll cheer from the side."

Barry shrugged. "It makes sense. So, Mira are you ready? Remember to not use your Abra."

Mira nodded. "Ready."

"Go!" Both of them shouted at the same time.

"Chimchar!"

"Piplup!"

Since both Pokemon were already out of their Poke balls, all they really had to do was stand in front of their trainers menacingly.

Or rather, it would be menacingly, if they weren't so darn cute.

"Ok, Piplup!" Barry commanded his Pokemon, "use Pound!"

Piplup didn't hesitate to rush over to Mira's Chimchar and attempt to pound it to the ground with its wings.

"Chimchar!" Mira said, "dodge it!"

Chimchar tried to leap away. It avoided the worst, but as it wasn't quite as agile as the Piplup, it got struck on its right leg, bringing it down.

Mira panicked. "Try to Scratch the Piplup to get it away from you!"

"Use another Pound!" Barry called from a couple of metres away.

Piplup attempted to attack Chimchar again, but Chimchar raked the Piplup's wing with a set of claws.

Piplup cried out, rushing back to avoid more harm.

"Now, Chimchar, use Leer!" Mira told her fiery friend, with more focus on the battle than she had at the beginning.

Chimchar obeyed, and thundered towards the Piplup, before glaring at it with a piercing stare.

Piplup slowly began to tremble with fear.

Barry began to get a little flustered. "Try intimidating Chimchar in return with a Growl!"

Piplup tried to growl at Chimchar, but it was so nervous that it only came out as a mere whimper.

"All right!" Mira called out, "finish it off with another Scratch, Chimchar!"

Chimchar raised its claws up in the air, making a faint glint in the sun, before bringing down its claws right across Piplup.

Piplup stumbled for a moment, before collapsing.

"Piplup is unable to battle," Cheryl said from where she was sitting, "Mira wins!"

Barry called the fainted Piplup back into its Poke ball.

"Well done, Chimchar!" Mira called out to it, "now time return to your Poke ball."

Chimchar nodded, and allowed itself to go back into its own Poke ball.

Barry sighed. "I'm pretty bummed that I lost, but that was a good battle, Mira!"

Mira nodded. "Mira agrees that the battle was very fun! Mira wants to declare you her rival!"

Barry paused, and looked at her. "Seriously? You want me to be your rival in battling?"

"Yes! Mira thinks you could be a strong trainer in future, and Mira wants a strong rival!"

"Well..." Barry said, "I don't think I'd have any reason to turn that request down! I am now your rival!"

"Woo!" Was all Mira said in response to that.

Cheryl stood up and wandered towards them. "So, I think it's time we continue on. Me and Mira were going to go to Lake Verity. Do you want to come, Barry?"

Barry shook his head. "Nah, I think I'm gonna go to Sandgem Town first. I've seen Lake Verity enough times already. I guess I'll see you guys around, then!"

And there, the two girls and Barry separated from each other, to head their own ways.

* * *

 _After meeting a neighbour of Cheryl's named Barry and leaving Sandgem Town, the two girls found themselves confronted with Sinnoh's famous Pokemon professor, Professor Rowan, and a choice between three Pokemon as a new friend! While Cheryl chose the derpy Turtwig, Mira picked the fiery Chimchar and Barry went for the enthusiastic Piplup. Soon after a battle between Mira's Chimchar and Barry's Piplup ensued, which resulted in a win for Mira. Afterwards the two girls bid Barry farewell as they began walking to Lake Verity... who knows what will happen next? The journey continues!_

* * *

 **Hello, dear reader! Considering this is the debut of Tano Platinum, I decided it was best to showcase a little more action to new readers by releasing part 2 shortly after part 1. I don't really have much else to say now, except thanks for reading!**


	3. Part 3: Lakes, Lore and Legendaries

"Why are you still holding that little guy?"

As Cheryl and Mira walked down Route 201, Mira couldn't help but notice that Cheryl was still holding her Turtwig tight in her arms.

"What do you mean?" Cheryl asked.

"Well," Mira explained, "shouldn't Turtwig be in its Poke ball?"

"I tried to return it to its Poke ball," Cheryl replied, "but it appears to dislike going in it quite a lot. So I'm just going to hold him."

The Turtwig was undoubtedly adorable within Cheryl's arms.

"Makes sense," Mira quietly said to herself as they continued on.

For a couple of moments there was silence between the girls.

Before Cheryl broke it up.

"So, I overheard you mentioning a couple of times that you were going to try and take on the Pokemon Gyms."

"Yes!" Mira replied, "Mira has been dreaming for a while now about taking on the Gym Leaders, and Mira's mum finally allowed her to go on a journey to catch Pokemon and defeat them all, before battling the Elite Four and becoming the Champion!"

Cheryl smiled. "It must be great to know what you want to do with your Pokemon."

"Huh?" Mira said, confused at Cheryl's response.

"You see," Cheryl told her, "I'm not really sure what I want to do with my life. I could take on Gym Leaders, I could do Super Contests, I could even be a breeder, but none of those ideas have ever appealed to me. I need to find something else. Something I genuinely enjoy."

Mira shrugged. "You seem very interested in Pokemon. Maybe you could do a job involving that?"

"I don't know," Cheryl replied, "maybe. I'll just wait until the day I realise what I should do."

Both of them looked out to the Route in front of them.

"Going by our shadows," Cheryl said, "it's about an hour until midday. We should reach the lake in a couple of hours."

Mira nodded in agreement.

As both of them continued walking, Mira started up another conversation. "Mira is so excited that she's going on her first ever adventure! Mira is also happy she has a travelling companion!"

Cheryl chuckled, while her Turtwig cried out with glee, which caused both Mira and Cheryl to burst out in giggles.

* * *

A couple of hours later, both girls came across a gap in the trees of Route 201.

"Here we go," Cheryl told Mira, "this is the path that leads to Lake Verity."

The gap in the trees led to a small dirt track that had been formed from people walking up and down it on numerous occasions.

Mira and Cheryl followed the path, Cheryl acting rather calm while Mira was trying to hide her squealing of happiness (and failing).

The dirt path turned a small corner, before the trees began to thin out, before eventually dying down altogether.

"There," Cheryl exclaimed, "is Lake Verity!"

Mira rushed up to her friend's side, and gasped at the beauty of the sight that was before her.

Lake Verity was a lake of tranquility, where the only disturbances were Magikarps swimming lower down and the odd kid trying to skim stones across the surface. The beaming sun that had been shining that day let its rays fall onto the water, which caused it to glimmer in the most stunning fashion. The water looked as pure as white, while the trees surrounding it gave an air of security, like this was a small haven where nothing came to harm and people could sit and read books while Wingull flew over the horizon.

"Mira thinks... this is an amazing view."

"I would agree," Cheryl chimed in, "I've been to this lake more times than I can count and it still amazes me every time."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden noise of someone clearing their throat.

Both girls looked away from the lake to see a young man with sky blue hair and a grey-and-black jacket standing about a metre away from them.

"Step aside," the man told the girls dismissively, "you're blocking my way."

If Mira hadn't been so intimidated, she would've probably told him something about not being rude, but seeing as she was, she and Cheryl both stepped away from the entrance, allowing him to pass.

As he left, he began quietly talking to himself. "Time... space... it will all be mine... legendary Pokemon of the lake bed... remember the name... Cyrus..."

He continued mumbling as he walked along, but he was too far away for Mira or Cheryl to hear what he was saying.

"What a crackpot," Cheryl said, "he's probably just a little insane, not making any sense..." she crossed her arms. "And besides, nobody could possibly even get near the legendary Pokemon in the lake, let alone touch it..."

"What?" Mira asked suddenly. She hadn't been aware of any legendary Pokemon being present in the water.

"The lake guardian of emotion, Mesprit, lives in a cave that is placed in the middle of the lake," Cheryl explained, "and is known to be one of the first Pokemon to ever exist. It taught humans how to feel emotions. At least, that's how the legends go."

She looked out onto the water. "However, the legends also say that nobody must dare touch it, otherwise that person who dared to will be drained of all their feelings. Due to this reason, Mesprit likes to hide in the lake's cave, so nobody will dare try to touch it. Of course, the legend is most likely fake, but it keeps people away from the lake's cave, so there must be some kind of truth to it..."

She turned back to Mira. "That man must have been hit on the head by something nasty if he believes he'll ever get the lake guardian of emotion. Or any of the other lake guardians, for that matter..."

Mira stared back at Cheryl, a small grin on her face. "Woah... Mira thinks that legend is amazing! And you said there were more? Mira is very interested in knowing these legends!"

Cheryl shrugged. "I don't find myself to be the best storyteller, but I guess I could let that pass. Come on, let's sit by the lake, and I'll tell you the legends of the other lake guardians."

Mira nodded. "Sounds like a plan!"

Both of them walked out to the lakeside, and sat down together.

"So," Cheryl began, "the next lake guardian is named Uxie. It, along with Mesprit and the final lake guardian, was one of the first Pokemon alive. According to the myths, Uxie was the being that taught humans knowledge. However, this Pokemon too had a curse. If anyone were to ever see its eyes, they would have their memory completely erased. This is why Uxie is often depicted with its eyes shut, and is also the reason it hides away in a lake. The lake Uxie is rumoured to lurk in, however, is right up north in the Sinnoh region, so its unlikely you'll see said lake anytime soon."

Mira stared up at the older girl in wonder. "And the final lake guardian?"

"The final lake guardian," Cheryl answered, "is named Azelf. It coexisted with Mesprit and Uxie, and is supposedly the teacher of willpower to humans. Like the other two, this Pokemon unfortunately was given a reason to hide. If anyone dares to harm it, that person will lose all of their strength and determination. This is why it avoids humans - because it fears Pokemon battles, where it will be harmed and most likely cause harm in return. It, too, hides in a lake, but like Uxie's lake, it is located on a completely different side of the region, and so you won't encounter that for a while, either."

Mira was completely entranced. "So these three Pokemon are supposed to be the reason why Mira is who she is today?"

Cheryl nodded.

"Awesome," Mira said quietly.

The two of them stared out at the peaceful lake for a while.

Then Cheryl spoke up again.

"I think it'd be interesting if we ever met those three Pokemon, and if they really did exist. I mean, nothing really beats seeing a legend with your own eyes, right?"

"Yeah," Mira mumbled.

"Come to think of it," Cheryl said, perking up suddenly, "how had you never heard of the lake guardians before? They're one of the most important trios in Sinnoh's history."

Mira looked at Cheryl. "Mira didn't originally come from Sinnoh."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Mira used to live in Kanto, in Viridian City. Mira and her mum moved to Hearthome City a few months ago because Mira's mum thought that Sinnoh would be the ideal place to start a Pokemon trainer's journey!"

Cheryl smiled. "Well, you seem to be enjoying it so far."

Mira nodded. "Of course Mira is!"

"Anyway," Cheryl said, standing up and taking Turtwig from where it had been munching on grass blades, "we should probably get moving. It won't be long before evening comes, and we want to be back at my place if we're gonna be comfortable tonight. Then I can prepare tents and food for you for tomorrow."

"For Mira?" Mira asked, "but why not you?"

Cheryl looked slightly taken aback. "I thought I was only taking you to the next town, but if you really want me to then I guess I could stay with you?"

Mira shot up from where she was sitting. "Yes! Mira wants to go on an adventure with her friend!"

Cheryl grinned. "Glad to be with you, Mira."

* * *

The walk back to Cheryl's house was full of chatter between the two girls. About the lore of Sinnoh, about the adventure they were going to share together, and almost anything that sprung to mind, really.

They reached Twinleaf Town again as the sun was beginning to dip below the trees.

Cheryl sighed. "This town always feels so relaxing when it's the evening. It's like everyone is getting ready to rest throughout the night. It's honestly one of the best times of day for someone to pop outside to view the sunset."

Mira nodded, taking in the calming atmosphere.

The two of them found their way to Cheryl's home, and opened the door quietly so as to not disturb the neighbours too much.

Cheryl stepped in first, while Mira followed after.

Cheryl let her Turtwig out of her arms, and it happily landed on the floor before it began exploring every nook and cranny the house had to offer.

"Feel free to make yourself at home," Cheryl said to Mira, "you can sit by the TV and watch documentaries, you can read one of the books I have upstairs, or you could do something else. I'll find my tents and prepare us some food - for this evening and for our adventure."

Mira smiled and nodded, closing the door behind her. "Mira will go see if there are any books she is interested in."

Then she wandered up the stairs to Cheryl's bedroom, and found her way to the bookshelf.

Several choices piqued her interest.

But the one she chose to go for was one named "The Creation And Lore Of Sinnoh".

She carefully pulled the book out from its position, and walked over to Cheryl's bed. There, she sat, and opened the book in front of her.

"According to legend, the first Pokemon to exist was born from an egg hatched in the very beginning of the universe. This Pokemon, which has been dubbed Arceus in old manuscripts, was said to be gifted with great power. This power it used to create Dialga, Pokemon of Time, Palkia, Pokemon of Space, and Giratina, Pokemon of antimatter."

Mira didn't know what antimatter was, but she continued anyway.

"While Dialga and Palkia still run space and time, Giratina was said to have been banished to an alternate dimension known as the Distortion World, where logic is bent and nothing makes any sense at all, becoming the Pokemon of that world instead. Soon after this incident, Arceus gave another egg. From this egg hatched three separate Pokemon - Uxie, Mesprit and Azelf."

Mira smiled to herself, for she already knew about the lore of the lake guardians.

Soon she became engrossed in the book.

An hour later, as she was still reading through the pages, Cheryl walked up the stairs to find the younger girl with her nose practically stuck in it.

"You seem to be enjoying that," Cheryl informed her.

Mira, who had been focusing on every last word of the book until that point, turned to Cheryl and nodded. "Mira is enjoying it very much! Mira has discovered much more about the Sinnoh region than she knew before."

Cheryl smiled. "Anyway, I brought you up some homemade soup. I've prepared all of our things for tomorrow as well. I'd recommend eating up, since the food we're going to get while travelling is not going to be as good quality as this."

She walked to Mira's side and held out the soup for her.

Mira smiled, took the soup and tried it.

"Mmm... this is delicious! Mira approves of your food!"

Cheryl blushed slightly. "Thanks a lot. Anyway, when you're done, just put the bowl on the bedside table and I'll come to clear it up. After that, you should definitely rest. We've got a big, big thing going on tomorrow."

* * *

 _After bidding Barry farewell, Mira and Cheryl found themselves heading to Lake Verity to see the beauty of the water. However, due to a strange encounter with an unknown man, the topic of the three lake guardians surfaced! Cheryl recited the old lore to her younger friend, and at that moment Mira realised how much she wanted to go on her adventure with her new friend! As the two became a proper duo, the sun set on Mira reading some interesting lore about the Sinnoh region... will this lore play a role in future? And who was the mysterious man the girls encountered by the lake? The journey continues!_

* * *

 **Hello reader! I don't have much to say this week, except I hope you enjoy the way I'm taking this fic!**


	4. Part 4: Rowan's Request and Starly?

Mira woke up the next morning to the sound of a bird Pokemon chirping in the trees outside the window.

Or rather she woke up to both that and Cheryl, clad in pastel green pyjamas, standing beside the sofa bed.

"Hey, get up! If we're going to reach Sandgem Town by tonight, you're gonna want to be ready soon!"

Mira sat up slowly, and rubbed her eyes. "You're excited for this, aren't you?"

Cheryl spun around, running her loose hair through her fingers while doing so. "Of course I am! I've never travelled the Sinnoh region beyond Eterna City before, so this'll be the first time I've seen the whole region. I never had the confidence to go alone before, but now I've got somebody to go with!"

Mira laughed. "Mira is excited too! Mira wants to explore Sinnoh, and defeat all the Gym Leaders!"

Cheryl grinned, and wandered over to the kitchen area to find food for Mira. "Who knows what kind of people and Pokemon we'll see? What friends we'll make? What rivals and enemies we'll strive to defeat? It's all a mystery, and that makes it even more exciting."

Both of them spotted Turtwig still snoring in the corner, and laughed.

"I'll wake that little one up when we really need to go," Cheryl said, "I don't think it needs to be awake just yet."

Mira settled her feet on the floor, and stood up. She had borrowed a pair of Cheryl's pyjamas that were too small for Cheryl, but fitted Mira perfectly. Mira appreciated the shade of pink the pyjamas were dyed. "It must be nice to wake up to this beautiful house and the bird Pokemon chirping outside. Mira feels really happy to be here."

Cheryl returned to Mira with a small bowl of cereal. "Glad you enjoy it. If you want to know the name of the bird Pokemon, it's called Starly. They tend to be common where we are in south Sinnoh because north Sinnoh is considerably colder."

Mira took the bowl of cereal and wandered to the table, where she sat on the chair beside it, placed the bowl on the table and began eating up.

Cheryl walked to the mirror by the table and began to braid her hair. "The tents are all packed in their sacks. I put one sack and some food in your backpack, and I put the other one and the rest of the food in my own."

Mira nodded. She didn't say anything, because her mouth was full of food.

"Aaaand done!" Cheryl turned back from the mirror, her hair tied into a loose plait. "What do you think?"

Mira finished off the bowl, for it didn't contain much cereal, and smiled. "Mira thinks the style is really pretty, and suits you perfectly!"

Cheryl grinned in return. "I think it does quite a bit too! Anyway, I'm gonna go upstairs and get dressed. Feel free to do your hair up and get dressed yourself down here."

And with that, Cheryl disappeared upstairs to her bedroom and wardrobe.

Mira placed the empty bowl in the kitchen area, and went back to the sofa bed. She had left all her clothes and her hair fasteners beside it last night, and at that moment she picked them up and placed them on the sofa bed.

She chose to do up her hair first.

Mira rushed over to the mirror, and began to separate her long, pink hair in two. There, she fastened one half and left it hanging down, while she brought the second half back up to her head and fastened it in a loop. It was a neat little style her mum had taught her oh-so-long ago, and Mira still loved it to this day.

Next, she returned to the sofa bed and began to take on the task of getting dressed.

* * *

Cheryl returned down the stairs, now clothed in her usual green, brown and white dress to see Mira fitting her feet into her shoes.

Mira's outfit consisted of a white t-shirt with pouffy short sleeves, and a small scarf that matched her hair. Speaking of her hair, it was fastened in two yellow sphere-shaped fasteners, with one half left hanging down and the other brought back up in a loop. She wore incredibly short shorts coloured in a similar pink, with white leggings underneath to compliment her shirt. The shoes she was putting on as Cheryl observed were pink as well, and had pouffy white fluff around the top.

"You look adorable," Cheryl told Mira.

"And you look beautiful!" Mira said in return.

Cheryl ran towards the door, where her boots resided. There she sat down hurriedly, and pulled them onto her feet in rapid succession.

"You are definitely excited for this," Mira said to her, standing up and picking up her backpack.

As Cheryl stood up and found her backpack, a forest green hiking bag, she nodded and grinned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Cheryl walked to the corner Turtwig was sleeping in. "Turtwig! You need to get up! It's a big day today!"

As it opened its eyes meekly, it yawned with a little whimper at the end.

Both Cheryl and Mira giggled, and Cheryl scooped it up in her arms.

* * *

Route 201 was particularly pretty this morning as Cheryl and Mira hiked along it, backpack straps slung across their shoulders and discussing various topics.

"My first Pokemon I ever obtained was my Happiny," Cheryl said to Mira after about an hour of walking. "Like you, I was given it by my mum. She works at the Pokemon centre in Eterna City, so she doesn't come home often, which is why I'm often left to my own devices. I still visit her once every couple of weeks while she's at her job, though. She got my Happiny as a present for me when she first started working there, since Pokemon centres rely on its evolution, Chansey, to heal Pokemon, and her bosses allowed her to bring me back one as a friend for me."

"Woah," Mira replied, "she must be really good at healing Pokemon if she's been employed by the Pokemon centres. Mira is very impressed. Mira also wants to know something - what does a Happiny look like?"

Cheryl turned her head to face Mira. "I guess I could let it out of its Poke ball."

She held her Turtwig in one arm, and with the other she found the Poke ball containing the only other Pokemon she currently possessed.

There, she held her arm back, before throwing the Poke ball forward and calling out, "go! Happiny!"

The Pokemon which emerged was one of the cutest things Mira had ever seen.

Happiny was a small, round, pink Pokemon with an adorable facial expression. It had a large tuft of fluff protruding from the top of its head, and it had stubby little arms and legs. Its body appeared to settle in a pocket of some kind, and in that pocket its arms held what appeared to be a tiny white egg. It blinked, and looked up at Mira with wide, curious eyes.

"Happiny," Cheryl said to it, "this is Mira. She's a new friend of mine."

The Happiny paused, then broke out into a miniature smile, making a quiet squealing noise and jumping up and down as it did.

"I think Happiny likes you," Cheryl told Mira.

Mira smiled at the little Pokemon, and knelt down beside it, before giving it a pat on the head.

This made the Happiny go hyperactive, running around in circles and continuing to squeal with excitement as it did so.

Mira laughed, while Cheryl smiled and sighed. "I should've mentioned that Happiny adores being patted on the head. Even if you dare try to, it will not stop running around for hours on end unless it returns to its Poke ball."

Cheryl held out the ball that had contained Happiny. "Happiny, return!"

Happiny allowed itself to go back into its Poke ball.

"If you're wondering about its egg," Cheryl mentioned, "in Chanseys, that's the main ingredient in healing Pokemon, and is why Chanseys are so useful in Pokemon centres. However, Happiny doesn't actually have an egg of its own, and can't make one until it evolves. What you saw it holding there was a white stone mimicking an egg. It holds onto that stone until it evolves, when it can finally make its own eggs."

Mira stood up, a wide grin on her face. "Mira thinks that Happiny is adorable!"

"And I think likewise," Cheryl replied. "Anyway, it's getting towards lunch time now, so you should probably get some food from your backpack."

* * *

As the two girls continued along while munching on lettuce sandwiches, their trains of thought and conversation became distracted by a faint whimpering noise.

Mira finished off her previous bite from her sandwich, and looked at Cheryl. "Mira can hear something very slightly. Can you hear it too?"

Cheryl nodded, for she hadn't quite finished off eating.

"Mira thinks we should try and search for the noise," Mira told Cheryl, "do you think we should?"

Cheryl finished off the sandwich quickly, so she could reply to Mira with actual words. "To me it sounds like a Pokemon in pain. We should definitely search. I'd say it's coming from our left, where the trees are, so let's look there."

Both of them diverted their course towards the rows of trees, and began to track the sound of the noise.

It wasn't long before Cheryl had tracked the noise to the bottom of a particular tree pulled back a thorn bush.

A sudden gasp startled Mira.

"Mira! I think I've found what was making the noise!"

Mira stopped searching where she was entirely, and instead ran over and knelt beside Cheryl.

There, in front of the two of them, was a tiny bird-like Pokemon. Its body was mainly a shade of light brown, and its wings, neck and rear head had fluffy black feathers surrounding them. Upon its belly resided a small, murky-white circle, the same shade as the feathers that surrounded its face. Its beak was predominantly orange, but the tip was black.

Just from here, Mira could hear its little chirps of pain.

"It looks like its wing was injured badly," Cheryl murmured, "judging by how young it looks, I'd say it was trying to fly away from its nest and failed."

She turned to Mira. "Hold Turtwig for me."

Mira obeyed, picking up the Pokemon from within Cheryl's arms and holding it tight.

Cheryl carefully wriggled her hands under where the injured Pokemon was lying, and being sure not to nudge its wing, gently lifted it from the dirty floor.

"We need to get to Sandgem as fast as we possibly can," Cheryl said to Mira, her tone suggesting that business here was serious. "I don't have any potions at all, and I'm assuming you don't either-"

"Mira doesn't," Mira interrupted.

Cheryl paused, then continued. "So we need to get to a Pokemon centre. As fast as we possibly can. And the nearest Pokemon centre is in Sandgem."

Both of the girls stood up abruptly, Mira holding Cheryl's Turtwig and Cheryl herself holding the injured bird Pokemon, and the two of them began to run.

They hadn't planned on running, but the situation had gotten urgent.

They returned to the main path, so as to not trip over any tree roots that were planning on ruining someone's day.

"If we alternate between running, jogging and walking," Cheryl said between breaths, "we will likely make it to Sandgem in about two hours."

Mira nodded.

Cheryl made sure that she wasn't damaging the Pokemon nestled in her arms too much by running, before adjusting its position to make it more comfortable.

"You had better be good with cross-country," Cheryl called out to Mira, "we'll be doing this for a while."

* * *

No such relief had come to either Mira or Cheryl in a while when they finally saw proper civilisation on the horizon.

The two of them slowed their running to a jogging pace, the two of them trying to find their breath.

As they entered the town, however, Cheryl started up again, forcing Mira to keep up with her.

Cheryl rushed towards the white building with a red roof, with Mira struggling to stay close behind her.

While still gasping for breath after running for so long, Cheryl activated the automatic doors to the building, and entered, Mira following shortly after.

The Pokemon centre blasted the two girls with warm air when they got into the main lobby.

The main lobby itself was extremely appealing to the aesthetic eye. Blue and yellow cushions in various sizes surrounded low, clear-glass tables. In the two rear corners of the room there resided two beautiful bonsai trees in clay pots. Beside one of these plants was a small, green bookshelf which held various books of all shapes and sizes to keep Pokemon trainers occupied while their Pokemon was being healed. Near the other plant was what appeared to be a blue PC that Mira had seen others use to store Pokemon in. On either side of the main lobby were two escalators, one going up, the other going walls themselves were orange, and the floor was a pale yellow. In the middle of the floor, there was an engraved Poke ball to signify the connection the centre had to trainers.

And at the very back of the main lobby, there was a red countertop with a gap in it to allow people to pass to the back room. Behind this red countertop stood a young woman with light pink hair wearing a blue surgeon's outfit. Behind her was a small tabletop with six indentations embedded into it, suggesting that it was a trolley upon which Poke balls would be held to take them to the back room for healing.

Cheryl rushed to the Pokemon centre lady as fast as she could, which at this point wasn't that fast because of how exhausted she was.

As she reached the desk, the Pokemon centre lady spoke up. "Welcome to the Pokemon centre! Back again, Cheryl? What needs to be healed now?"

Mira was at first confused as to how the Pokemon centre lady knew who Cheryl was, but then remembered how Cheryl's mum also worked in a Pokemon centre. Not to mention that Cheryl had probably walked this route enough times for her to get familiar with the locals.

She was too out of breath to say anything, and just gently let the Pokemon she had been holding rest on the desk, before finding the nearest cushion and practically falling onto it.

Mira had been seriously worn out too, so she let her legs collapse onto a cushion beside Cheryl, and for a few second they just sat there, gasping for breath.

"I'm assuming I'm healing this little fellow up?" The Pokemon centre lady called out to the two of them.

Cheryl turned to the lady and nodded.

The lady smiled in return. "Alright. I'll take the poor thing into the back and try to work out what happened and how to solve it. I'll call you two when I've worked out what I should do."

And with that, the lady disappeared into the back room, carrying the wounded Pokémon with her.

Mira and Cheryl just sat there for a minute or so, waiting to get their breath back.

Once they felt they could talk again, Mira spoke up. "Well, that was eventful."

The underwhelming reaction caused Cheryl to burst out laughing, which was apparently contagious as Mira began to laugh too.

"Anyway, Mira needs to give back Cheryl her Turtwig."

Mira let the Grass-type fall into Cheryl's lap, where it abruptly fell asleep and began to snore. This caused the girls to go into another miniature laughing fit.

They were soon interrupted by the Pokemon centre lady, who had returned from the back room. "Ok girls, I've identified the problem. Follow me to the back room."

Cheryl looked back at the lady and stood up on shaky legs, taking Turtwig with her as she did so. "I guess I should. Come on, Mira."

Mira nodded and slowly stood up. Together the two of them found themselves walking through the gap in the red tabletop to the back room, where the healing operations usually took place.

Within the room was a large hospital bed with silky white bedsheets covering it. To the left of it was a bedside table themed like the tabletop outside. Upon this tabletop resided an oak lamp, which was currently switched on. A small monitor was placed on a table by the right side of the room, and the monitor was currently recording a heartbeat with a green line on a black background.

The injured Pokemon was so small that it barely took up any space on the bed. Its right wing was bandaged up.

"We worked out," the lady explained, "that the injury is most likely a broken wing. From the minor scratch wound we found, it's safe to assume that it was taking off for the first time and crashed into a tree by accident. This will take me a few hours to sort out, but it should be sorted by the time the sun's gone fully down. You two can find something in Sandgem to keep you occupied for now."

* * *

"Yep, that right there was a Starly," Cheryl explained to Mira. They had been waiting about half an hour now, and Mira had realised she still didn't know what Pokemon they had just used all their energy saving.

"Really? The Pokemon Mira had heard this morning?"

"Yes. To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't ask what Pokemon it was earlier."

Cheryl had been gently stroking her Turtwig while it was sleeping in Cheryl's lap, and it made a small whimpering noise as though it was sleep-talking in its own language.

This caused both girls to pause, then quietly laugh at how undoubtedly cute it was.

Their friendly conversation was interrupted by the sound of someone entering the building and heading their way.

The girls turned around to see the boy from earlier who had been with Professor Rowan, Lucas. His white scarf hid his neck entirely, and his blue jacket appeared to be the sort that would keep someone warm, no matter the weather. He wore simple black trousers and trainers to counterpart them, and atop his head was a red hat. He held a backpack. He cleared his threat to get their attention.

"I was told to find you by Professor Rowan," he told them, "he wants you for something, apparently. I asked a local if they had seen either of you around, and one said they recognised you two running in here. If it isn't too inconvenient, would you please come along?"

Both girls nodded, and stood up from the cushions, Cheryl scooping up Turtwig along the way.

Both of them followed Lucas out of the Pokemon centre, and he led them to a building with a cyan blue roof and a sign outside that read "Pokemon Professor's Lab".

All three of them entered to find Professor Rowan, Dawn and Barry already inside.

"Hey, you guys!" Barry called out to the girls when he saw them, "I chose to stay in Sandgem for a day or two once I had started my adventure, and then Professor Rowan called me here for something... and I guess he called you too?"

Dawn, who wasn't really talking to anyone, sat in the corner writing something into a notebook. She, too, wore a jacket like Lucas, but hers was a shade of dark pink and doubled up as a skirt. She wore knee-high white socks and ridiculously long bubblegum-pink boots. Her head was covered by a white beanie, but it still allowed her dark hair to fall down her back. She also had a white scarf, but hers was tied up in a slightly different style.

Professor Rowan smiled at Mira and Cheryl as they entered. "Ah, so it didn't take long to find you two, then! Were you staying around Sandgem Town like Barry was?"

"Actually," Cheryl replied, "we sort of did that. We arrived about half an hour ago after we found and injured Starly. We were waiting for it to recover."

The Professor nodded. "Ah. I wish that Starly well. Anyway, let's get to the subject of why I called you here."

Dawn stopped writing in her notebook, and picked up a box that was next to it. Then she proceeded to walk to the Professor's side.

"You see," he explained, "I've been looking for people who can help fulfil a task for me. Dawn and Lucas have been doing pretty well so far, but it would be a lot more helpful and quicker if I had someone else also on the task."

Dawn opened the box she was holding.

Barry peeked inside, and gasped in awe.

"I have two Pokedexes remaining," the Professor continued, "and I was wondering if any of you wanted to take on the challenge."

Cheryl then proceeded to gasp in almost exactly the same fashion as Barry had done earlier.

Mira, in the other hand, shrugged slightly. "Mira is happy you offered, but Mira isn't really interested in catching all Pokemon. Mira is more interested in forming her own team and taking on the Gym Leaders."

"Well, that's perfect!" Barry exclaimed, "I can get a Pokedex, and Cheryl can get a Pokedex!"

Barry didn't hesitate to grab both from the box and give one to Cheryl, who had to let Turtwig onto the floor so she could open it properly.

The Pokedex was an interesting little device. From the outside, it looked almost like a small case of some sort, and it was coloured a bright shade of red. A black section stuck out from the right side, and this black section had some sort of green button located on top. The other side had a black section sticking out too, but the top of the Pokedex blocked it.

When Cheryl opened hers, Mira could properly see what was on the inside.

Not only could she now tell what the other black part held (a D-pad), but she could also see two separate screens, one located on the inside of the Pokedex top half, and the other located on the inside of the Pokedex bottom half. A blue light, which as of right now was switched off, resided to the right of the top screen.

Cheryl and Barry both grinned with delight.

"If you want to ever scan a Pokemon," Professor Rowan told them, "press the green button. If you want to look at which Pokemon you've already seen and information concerning them, use the D-pad. Do you need to know anything else?"

Both of them looked him. "We're fine, Professor Rowan."

* * *

As Cheryl and Mira returned to the Pokemon centre, the discussion was nothing but excitement. Cheryl had wondered if this was the thing she could do for a living.

Now, a few hours later, the two of them were beginning to get a little drowsy. They had just settled their heads within their arms on the table (while Turtwig slept even more by Cheryl's side) when the Pokemon centre lady startled them.

"Hey, the Starly's all fine now!"

Cheryl shook her head to wake herself up along with Mira, and together the two of them followed the lady, with Turtwig being yet again picked up by Cheryl.

"There we are," the lady said once they had entered, "all safe and sound."

The Starly sat in the middle of the bed. When it spotted the two girls enter, it chirped happily at them.

"This Starly should be free to go now," the lady informed them.

"Thanks a lot," Cheryl told the lady, "we wouldn't have been able to save it without you."

"And I wouldn't have been able to heal it without you!" The lady replied. "Anyway, it's night time outside now. Are you going to stay here for the night or continue your journey?"

Cheryl didn't hesitate to answer. "Staying at a Pokemon centre where there is proper food and warm beds is much better than camping in the cold with mediocre sandwiches. We'll take two rooms for the night."

* * *

After Mira and Cheryl had stuffed themselves on Sitrus berry pie and sent themselves to bed, Cheryl woke up to the sound of a Pokemon chirping.

Cheryl looked out into the room to see the Starly from earlier, hopping around near her bag.

Cheryl had let the Pokemon stay with her for tonight, but it seemed slightly eager to get something inside it.

Cheryl sighed, and got out of bed. There she wandered over to where she had dumped her bag and sat down cross-legged beside it.

"What is it you want?" She whispered quietly, and picked up the bag.

She rummaged through it, until she came across a sandwich.

She brought that out and offered it to the Starly, but it refused, backing away and chirping a little more loudly.

"Shh!" Cheryl said to it sharply. She didn't want it to wake up Mira, who had been sharing the room with her.

She continued to look through her bag, and brought out an unused Poke ball.

The Starly, upon seeing the Poke ball, waddled over to it, and before Cheryl could even think about what it was trying to do it had clicked the button on it with its beak, causing it to become encased within the ball.

The small circle of black that surrounded the button glowed red once, then faded. Then did so again, then faded. Then did so for the third time, then faded.

Then a noise made by the Poke ball signified that Starly had been captured.

"Woah..." Cheryl mumbled, too tired to comprehend what had just happened.

She picked up the Poke ball and let the Starly back out again.

It flew over to her shoulder and sat on it, causing Cheryl to tense up in surprise, but then calm down again.

Then an idea occurred to her.

She rummaged through her bag once more until she found her newly obtained Pokedex. She aimed the front of it at the Starly, which had flown from her shoulder and into her lap, and pressed the green button.

A sudden loud, electric voice startled her out of her skin. The blue light from before began flashing in correspondence to the voice.

"Starly, the Starling Pokemon. Starly normally travels in a flock, but is hard to notice otherwise-"

"What is that noise?" Said a voice from the other side of the room.

"Sorry, Mira," Cheryl told her, "I woke up to Starly making noises, and then it wanted me to capture it. I tried to register it to the Pokedex, but it didn't realise it read out its information via voice."

The Pokedex was still rambling on about how Starly was a Normal and Flying type, its height, its weight and so on. Both girls tried to ignore it.

Turtwig had been sleeping on Cheryl's bed until that point, but it was now wide awake and moaned, most likely about how its sleep was interrupted.

The Pokedex finally shut up, and the light stopped flashing, and the sudden silence felt almost overwhelming until both girls began laughing with how ridiculous the night had become.

After they had stopped rolling around on the floor giggling, Cheryl sighed. "Well, we should probably get back to bed now. I'm exhausted from all that running earlier today, and I don't want to be waking up at midday when I've got an adventure to go on."

* * *

 _It was an eventful first proper day of adventure for Mira and Cheryl! After finding an injured Starly within the trees of Route 201, they were forced to run to Sandgem Town to make sure it was healed. During the wait for the Starly to become healthy again, the duo were called by Professor Rowan to see if either of them wanted to take on a great task - filling up the Sinnoh Pokedex! Cheryl and the newly-returned Barry picked up one, but Mira chose against it. Once the evening was over and Starly had recovered, a surprise occurred during the night and Cheryl ended up catching the wounded Starly! Who knows what will happen next? The journey continues!_

* * *

 **Hello dear reader! I will apologise right now for the length of this part - nearly double the length of last part. It just felt like it was better off as one long piece than a two-parter, and it's more content for you to see, so why not? Either way, I have a couple of weeks off from Friday onwards, so I'll be hopefully producing a lot more Tano Platinum content during then, so look forward to that! Enjoy!**


	5. Part 5: Mira vs Cheryl - the Duo Battle!

Mira groaned as the morning light outside forced her to wake up from her rest. The previous day had been pretty exhausting, and she hadn't gotten too much sleep last night either after Cheryl caught her third team member.

She sat up slowly, and stretched out her arms in front of her. She didn't think she had felt this stiff in all her life.

Turning around to face the side of her bed, Mira plopped her feet onto the floor and shakily stood up. She was almost relieved that both her and Cheryl had chosen to bypass comfort and sleep in their usual clothes instead of pyjamas, because it meant that there was a lot less required of her in the mornings - all she had to do was fasten her hair into her favourite style, put her shoes on and pick up her backpack and she was ready to go.

Before she did all that, though, she chose it'd be better to wake Cheryl up first.

Mira gently placed one foot in front of the other as she walked to Cheryl's bedside.

"Hey, get up," Mira said loudly, "Mira wants to go already."

The forest-green haired teen's eyelids fluttered slightly, before they properly opened. "Oh my Arceus, I'm tired."

Mira nodded. "Mira is tired too! But Mira suggests that you should just get on with the day and get up already!"

Cheryl nodded, and forced herself to sit up. "I guess that philosophy is what helped you to get out of bed this morning?"

Mira wasn't entirely sure what Cheryl had replied because it was so early in the morning and Cheryl had said it extremely quietly, so she just shrugged. "Mira is going to tie up her hair. You can do whatever you need to."

"Well," Cheryl informed her, "I guess the first thing I should do is wake up little Turtwig here. When does it not sleep?"

The two girls forced themselves down the stairs, and as Mira healed up her Chimchar at the centre main lobby (for she had remembered that it was injured from the battle against Barry), she and Cheryl made a plan for what to do.

"Ok," Cheryl said, spreading out a map she had brought with her on the glass table. "At this point, we only have one direction accessible to us from this town, and that is Route 202. We can't go to where Route 219 leads yet, mainly because only people who have been given a special allowance by the famous Professor Oak are allowed there. From Route 202, we reach Jubilife City. If we want to continue beating gyms, its best for us to go right to Route 203, which leads to Oreburgh City and the first Gym Leader. However, if we want to read up on some Pokemon information, we should go left to the ferry that leads to Canalave City, where the Canalave Library resides. Or ultimately, we could go north to Route 204, which leads to Floaroma Town and the lowest-level contest hall to watch some sweet contests. What do you prefer, Mira?"

Mira thought over her answer carefully, before finally making a decision. "Mira thinks that Route 203 is the best way to go! Mira wants to challenge the Gym Leader before she gets distracted by anything!"

Cheryl shrugged. "Sounds reasonable."

Both were interrupted by a small yawn from Turtwig.

Just as Cheryl began to carefully stroke it within her lap, the Pokemon centre lady arrived back in the main lobby with a single Poke ball residing in her trolley.

"Your Chimchar is healed!" She called out to Mira, "feel free to pick its Poke ball up from here."

Mira looked up at the woman, then back at Cheryl. "Be right back."

* * *

As they left the Pokemon centre, it occurred to Cheryl that now would be the perfect opportunity to buy potions.

"There's a mart near here," she told Mira, "just over there to be specific."

Mira looked in the direction Cheryl had specified. "Mira agrees. If Mira is to go on an adventure, Mira will need potions!"

The two of them wandered over to the Poke Mart. From the outside, it was simply a white building with a flat, blue roof.

As the two of them entered, they saw what it contained.

The floor was tiled diagonally with alternating turquoise and sky-blue tiles. The walls were painted a simple white with a blue stripe crossing the top and bottom while an orange line ran around near the bottom blue stripe. To the right stood multiple shelves filled to the brim with potions, Poke balls, escape ropes, repels - just about anything a trainer needed to go on an adventure. Another potted plant similar to the two in the Pokemon centre was situated next to a dark blue tabletop. This tabletop was located in the back left corner of the room, and behind it stood a man with brown hair and an apron to match the tabletop.

Mira and Cheryl abruptly walked to the man behind the tabletop.

"Excuse me," Cheryl asked him, "but may I have ten potions?"

The man nodded. "Of course, young madam."

He found his way through the gap in the tabletop that was there to allow him to pass and selected ten purple spray bottles from a shelf. Then her returned and placed them in front of Cheryl.

"That'll be 2000 PokeYen, please."

Cheryl rummaged through her backpack until she found a small purse that matched her hair. She opened it, and brought out several coins, as well as a note that read "500".

"Thank you for your service," the man told Cheryl with a bright smile and putting the money in a cashier. "Next!"

Cheryl picked up the bottles, placed them in her backpack and moved out of Mira's way. "I'll wait for you outside."

Mira nodded, and Cheryl wandered out of the automatic doors.

Mira stepped forward to the tabletop. "Mira will take ten potions as well, please!"

The man looked slightly confused for a moment. "Do you mean yourself or someone else?"

"Mira means herself!" Mira replied with a light expression on her face.

"Ok," the man informed her, "I just had to clarify. I'll go get those potions for you."

As he got the potions from the shelves, Mira took a moment to appreciate the aesthetic of the Poke Mart, before the man returned with ten potions. "That'll be 2000 PokeYen, please."

Mira took her own backpack off her back, and found a small, yellow drawstring bag within it. She loosened the top of it and found herself two notes that read "1000" on each of them.

"Thank you very much," the man told Mira. "Next!"

Mira tightened the strings on the drawstring bag, placed it and the potions inside her backpack and left the Mart with a smile on her face.

* * *

"So," Cheryl stated, "this is Route 202."

Mira nodded, rolling her eyes. "Isn't that obvious?"

Cheryl shrugged. "Couldn't think of anything better to say."

Mira laughed. "Mira would've been able to think of better!"

"Like what?"

Mira turned herself fully so that she was facing Cheryl on the grassy path. "You have healing items now, as well as Mira. That means Mira can battle you! You might feel a little more comfortable doing it this time!"

Cheryl paused and thought before answering. "I'm not sure if that'd be the best idea. I've got one more Pokemon than you, and I've had more experience, so it really wouldn't be fair-"

"But Mira really wants to try!"

Cheryl sighed deeply. "I guess I could if you really want me to... but I will be going all out."

Turtwig, which for once wasn't resting, nodded with agreement.

"Yay!" Mira called out, picking a Poke ball from her backpack. "Go, Abra!"

As Abra formed outside of the ball it was encased in, Cheryl found a moment to get a proper look at it.

The Pokemon was primarily yellow, with a cat-like face. It's arms were thin, and its hands ended with three fingers that extended out into claw-like features. Its two legs were average compared to Abra's small size, and its feet ended out on three toes with claw-like features similar to the hands. From its rear end sprouted a tail with a small brown stripe looping around it near the end. Its chest was also brown. It hovered above the path in a sitting position, as though it was sleeping.

Cheryl picked the Poke ball that she had most recently added to her team. "Go! Starly!"

The Starling Pokemon formed in front of her, and made the little chirping noise it always did.

"Starly," Cheryl called out, "use Wing Attack!"

Starly spread out its wings, and flew up. While it was airborne, a light energy of some sort formed around its wings to vastly increase their size.

It descended suddenly, bringing its enlarged wings closer to to itself to increase how aerodynamic it was.

Cheryl had a feeling she knew what would happen. It was very likely that the Abra would teleport. That'd probably mean she would have to exhaust it before she could deal the finishing blow.

"Abra, don't teleport away!" Mira cried out to it.

Cheryl paused, confused as to what her friend's tactic was going to be.

The Starly was getting closer and closer to the Abra, as it brought its wings a little further away from its body to get ready to attack with them.

But still, Mira didn't command any other move to stop it.

The Starly got even closer, its wings glowing brightly.

It was about to impact the Abra when Mira suddenly called out her command.

"Abra, use Bide!"

Cheryl suddenly panicked. "Starly, stop-"

But it was too late. The Starly had gotten too close to the Abra, and couldn't stop itself. Its glowing wings raked the Abra, causing the Abra to cry out suddenly, but it didn't collapse onto the floor. It maintained focus, as though it was storing up energy inside of itself.

"Abra," Mira shouted out, "release the Bide energy!"

Before the Starly had a chance to get any further away from Abra, it was blasted with a beam of bright energy that caused both Cheryl and Mira to look away with how bright it was.

When both looked back again, Starly was flat on the floor, knocked out by the sheer power of the bide.

"That," Cheryl told Mira with amazement as she recalled Starly into its Poke ball, "was an amazing tactic. Waiting until the last moment to use Bide on a strong attack so that the Pokemon can't stop itself, then hitting the Pokemon back with a move of twice the power? Just astonishing. Anyway, two Pokemon left to go... Go, Happiny!"

The small, pink Pokemon cried out with joy as it was released.

"Mira," Cheryl said to herself quietly, "I know your hidden tactic now. And I have one of my own."

"Abra, use Psychic!" Mira called out.

Cheryl took a moment to marvel at the TMs this Abra knew, before bringing herself back to the battle. "Happiny, dodge it and Thunder Wave!"

The Abra raised its arms and gathered energy, creating a small ball of Psychic energy between its hands, before pushing the ball away from itself towards the Happiny.

The Happiny spun out of range of the attack, before turning back to the Abra. It began to generate electricity between its stubby hands, before firing off several weak jolts at the Abra.

Before Abra had a chance to react or teleport away, it got struck by the jolt.

Cheryl was surprised at herself that she managed to pull the move off, but she shook it off for the moment so she could maintain focus on the battle.

Mira stepped back a moment, not expecting the Happiny to have used such a move. She knew enough to recognise that the Happiny's Thunder Wave had successfully paralysed her Abra, and that meant it was going to have to work very hard if it wanted to even try and use a move.

Cheryl smiled faintly, and commanded the best attacking move she had. "Happiny, use Water Pulse!"

Happiny began to collect moisture from the air in a ball in front of it, before firing off the water ball in a strange, pulsating wave that blasted the Abra at high speed.

The Abra cried out, before collapsing to floor, unable to battle.

Mira gasped in amazement at Cheryl as she returned Abra to its Poke ball. "You're very good, you know!"

Cheryl shrugged. "You are, too."

Mira smiled back at her. "Go Chimchar!"

The monkey-like Fire-type growled in excitement as it was released from its Poke ball.

Mira didn't hesitate to use a move. "Chimchar, use Scratch!"

"Happiny," Cheryl cried out, "start off with a dodge!"

The Chimchar ran towards the Happiny as fast as its legs allowed, before it attempted to slash the pink Pokemon with a set of claws.

Happiny attempted to escape, but Chimchar's claws caught its large tuft of hair sprouting from its head.

Chimchar's claws held the Happiny in place, as though it was pinned to the Chimchar's hand. It cried out for help, but Cheryl knew the rules - if the opponent only sends out one Pokemon, you must do the same.

"Chimchar!" Mira cried out, "use your other hand to continue scratching!"

"Happiny," Cheryl called out as a response, "try to Water Pulse it!"

Chimchar began raking its claws all over Happiny, left, right and centre, not giving it a chance to even try and use a move. All Happiny could do was sit there in panic as it slowly, but surely, lost its ability to battle.

When Chimchar finally let go of the Happiny, it fell onto the floor.

"Happiny, return!" Cheryl called out, letting it relax back in its own Poke ball. "Right... it's time! Go Turtwig!"

The Grass-type, that had been munching grass behind Cheryl as she battled, poked its head around her legs, before bounding over and standing in front of its trainer.

Cheryl bit her lip. She knew that Fire-types had an advantage against Grass-types.

"Turtwig," Cheryl cried, "use Tackle!"

Turtwig tucked its head in slightly, before starting up a charge on the Chimchar.

"Chimchar," Mira called out, "use Scratch to try and stop the charge!"

As the Turtwig drew nearer, Chimchar began to prepare its claws for an attack. To both side's surprise, miniature flames also began to bloom around Chimchar's fingers. They were tiny, though, and so probably wouldn't affect this attack.

Turtwig drew nearer and near, until-

Chimchar tried to stop the Tackle impact with its claws, but the sheer power caused Turtwig to send Chimchar flying.

As Chimchar sat up from where it had landed, before it successfully brought itself back onto its feet, albeit extremely shakily.

"Ok, Turtwig!" Cheryl commanded, "finish off the battle with another Tackle!"

As the Turtwig readied itself up again, Mira suddenly flashed a smile.

She had just realised something.

Cheryl tensed up slightly. She had a feeling she knew why this Chimchar was battling so furiously this whole time.

It wanted to learn its new move, and had been trying to use it for a while now. It also explained the miniature flames from just before.

"Chimchar, charge up an Ember!"

As the Turtwig drew nearer yet again, Chimchar began powering up a weak flame within its hands. The flame became bigger and bigger.

"Now release it!"

Chimchar cried out with determination as it fired off the flame to Turtwig.

"Turtwig, dodge-" Cheryl tried to say, but the Chimchar was way too fast.

The fire exploded onto Turtwig.

It cried out in panic and pain, before slowly crumpling onto the ground in exhaustion.

"Turtwig is unable to battle," an unknown voice said from inside the trees by where Cheryl had been battling, not even giving a chance for Cheryl to speak. "Chimchar's side wins."

* * *

Mira would've probably celebrated how she had just won a battle against three Pokemon with only two, and Cheryl would've probably sighed and mentioned how she wasn't a great battler, but both had turned in the direction of whoever had just spoken in confusion.

A boy who must've only been a year or two older than Mira emerged from the trees. His hair was a shade of bright red, and was just long enough to be held in a small ponytail. The front part of his hair had a yellow stripe running down the middle. He wore a red T-shirt with a black fire pattern surrounding the lower half of it. He wore simple denim shorts. His shoes were predominantly black, but had a small red ring around the top. Atop his shoulder rested a crimson bag strap that led to a backpack of a similar colour.

"I just observed your battle," he told them, "and I found it astonishing. The way the Pokemon moved around the battlefield with strategy, the way they attacked their foes with sheer willpower and passion... it was truly something to be amazed by."

Both girls blinked in surprise, before responding.

"Well, thanks?" Cheryl replied.

"Thanks!" Mira told him.

The boy smiled in return. "I should probably introduce myself. My name is Buck. I've been trying to find my way to Floaroma Town, but I got lost. I was about to call it a day and go back to Jubilife City's Pokemon centre to relax and have some food, but then I saw your battle and couldn't help watching."

"Well... I never knew I had any talent with battling," Cheryl replied, "and I don't enjoy it as much as someone like Mira over there, but if you say so. As for Floaroma Town... I can direct you there. Do you want me to simply tell you directions or do you want to travel with us?"

Buck shrugged. "I'm not the best with memory. I guess I can travel with you guys for a bit, as long as I don't disturb your plans."

Mira, who had called Chimchar back and wandered over to them, sighed. "Mira was going to go to Oreburgh City to take on the Gym Leader, but that's a completely different way."

Buck thought this information over. "That does seem to be an awkward case... I could compromise with you - we all go to Oreburgh, then Floaroma. I'm not in too much of a rush, but I want to make sure I'm in Floaroma in roughly the next week, so if the trip to Oreburgh is short enough then I'm all up for the deal."

Cheryl and Mira looked at each other and both nodded.

"Seems reasonable," Cheryl told Buck. "From where we are to Oreburgh, going by if we follow the paths, will take a couple of days. From Oreburgh to Floaroma will take about three days. You should be fine!"

Buck grinned. "Thanks a lot!"

Cheryl smiled at him. "Oh, and in case you didn't catch them, my name is Cheryl, and this is Mira. And before we go anywhere, I need to use some potions on my Pokemon."

* * *

As Mira, Cheryl and Buck all walked down Route 203, they talked non-stop about the battle Mira had just won against Cheryl.

"That Bide combination was amazing, Mira!" Cheryl told her with a bright smile. "I never saw it coming, and that kind of surprise and unpredictability is what makes a battle fun!"

Mira shrugged. "You had a good tactic, too, you know! Who would've thought that you had a Thunder Wave up your sleeve? And Water Pulse?"

"Well," Cheryl explained, "I had Thunder Wave put on Happiny in case I ever wanted to catch a Pokemon, and my mum bought the TM for Water Pulse because it was the only TM in the shop that Happiny could utilise. You see, Happiny can't do much damage if it tries to physically attack a Pokemon due to how frail it is, but it can do a little more damage if it's using a move that can be fired from a distance. The only one of these moves that my mum could find that Happiny could learn was Water Pulse, so she just took it as it was better than nothing."

"Mira's mum was a Pokemon trainer long ago, and she had some TMs left over from her travels. She taught them to an Abra for Mira and helped Mira with the best technique for using them."

"I honestly think both of you had some amazing tactics," Buck interrupted. "I think if Mira didn't have the typing advantage in the final match, then you two would've ended that battle in a tie. How did both of you learn such good tactics?"

Cheryl sighed. "In Jubilife City resides the Pokemon Trainer's school. When I was younger I'd go there a few times a week to learn tactics in battling. I guess I just began to use the tactics I learned as I got older."

"Mira is similar!" Mira perked up, "Mira was taught tactics in a Pokemon Trainer's school too, but it was the one in the Kanto region. Mira's mum also helped!"

Buck smiled at the two of them. "So both of you got an education in battling? That's pretty cool."

* * *

 _After stocking up on potions, Cheryl and Mira had an all out battle! Despite the odds of two against three, Mira took the victory as her own. However, the moment the battle ended, a young boy named emerged from the trees asking if the girls could help him get to Floaroma Town within the week! With the group now temporarily being a trio, what will happen to them all next? The journey continues!_

* * *

 **Hello dear reader! I don't have much to say this week, except I hope you don't mind the abundance of TMs... enjoy!**


	6. Part 6: Shinx, Baltoy and a Bi-doofus!

Mira and Cheryl continued to talk with their new companion as they wandered through the path in the trees, while Turtwig remained asleep in Cheryl's arms.

"So," Mira asked the boy with a curious tone, "why are you going to Floaroma Town? And why so urgently?"

Buck, who had been calm, composed and confident up until that point, tensed up slightly and began blushing. "Well, I'm hoping you don't judge me, but, uh..."

"We won't judge," Cheryl interrupted, "it's completely fine."

Buck continued. "Well, I wanted to finally pursue my dream of being a Pokemon coordinator and get my first contest pass to do so. I can only get it in Floaroma Town, since that's the lowest level Contest Hall in the Sinnoh region, so I went to travel there. Unfortunately, I got lost. I went down this route hoping that I'd somehow find my way to Floaroma, but that was apparently completely wrong."

Cheryl and Mira both smiled at him.

"It sounds like you really want to be a contest star, and that's fine," Cheryl told him. "As for getting lost, I could see why you would. Jubilife City is so big that you'd have to go through it at least a hundred times before you knew which way was the correct way out, or else ask someone else to help you. Luckily for you, I've lived around these parts all my life, and so I know which way to go."

Mira piped up. "And even if Mira doesn't know the way either, Mira thinks that she could be great conversation for you!"

Buck laughed slightly. "Well, I guess I couldn't have found a better duo to travel with, then, could I?"

At that point it was Mira and Cheryl's turn to start laughing.

"So," Cheryl asked once she had calmed down slightly, "where do you live, considering you got lost around here?"

Buck shrugged. "Me and my older brother both live in Sunyshore City, but we've only actually been there for about three years. Before that, we lived in Hoenn, where I got my first ever Pokemon, but we moved from there due to the increase in risk of natural disasters after Groudon and Kyogre were temporarily awoken. Since then, I've been training to become Sinnoh's next top coordinator, and a couple of days back I finally got the chance to. I was taken to Jubilife by my brother and his Drifblim, and the rest you already know."

"The Hoenn region?" Mira said, fascinated. "Mira has never been there before, but she has heard it has some of the most amazing weather!"

Buck nodded. "You'd be right about that one. Sometimes I still miss the tropical climate and the great volcano, as well as the amazing beaches, but then I remember that where I am now is just as nice, if a little bit cold."

Mira smiled at him. "Mira understands what it's like to feel a little homesick. Mira came from the Kanto region, after all."

Buck turned his head to her and returned the smile. "I've heard the Kanto region has pretty average weather compared to Hoenn or Sinnoh. No drastic temperature changes, no massive volcanoes or colossal ice mountains, and certainly no demigods of the land and sea to destroy the harmony in nature... is it nice, to just have average weather?"

"Sometimes," Mira replied, "but quite often it gets a little boring. Mira was very surprised when Sinnoh was cold, but it was exciting at the same time, so Mira guesses her answer is mixed."

Cheryl interrupted the conversation. "It's great that you're getting along, but I've just realised how utterly boring I find conversations about the weather to be."

Buck and Mira laughed.

"Ok," Buck replied, "we'll stop now, but you have to choose the next conversation topic."

Cheryl nodded. "I've already thought of one. Buck, what is your Pokemon that you got from the Hoenn region? It's highly likely I've never seen it before, so it'll be a new experience for me."

Buck grinned. "Ok, as you wish."

He stopped in the track suddenly so he could open his bag and find his only Pokemon.

When he finally did so, he brought out what looked like a Poke ball, except the top half was blue instead of Red and two red rectangular-shaped strips were set into either side of the blue half.

However, just before he threw it out, he looked at the two girls. "Is it alright if I release my Pokemon from its Great ball in the way I've been practising for my first contest?"

"Sure," Cheryl replied, "it'll be good for your practice."

Buck nodded and smiled. He held out what he had called the Great ball in front of him, before holding it back behind his shoulder and shouting out what he had rehearsed.

"Alright, Baltoy! Give us all the strength you've got in this! The audience's eyes will be dazzled by your sheer power! Leeeeeet's go!"

And with that, he cried out as loud as possible and threw the Great ball up into the air with as much force as he could possibly muster.

There, in front of him, formed his Pokemon.

It was predominantly a beige colour, and had a small body that almost appeared to be made of clay. Thin arms protruded from a spherical torso that levitated above the ground. It had no legs - instead, a small, pointy cone resided under its torso, with the point facing down. A small section of its torso was outlined with a circular clay ribbon that was coloured red. Its head also had a point on top of it that was extremely similar to the one that was located below, and its eyelids were closed shut, implying it was either asleep or, like Abra, simply used psychic power to attack. Another clay-like red ribbon was located on its head, but this one arced over the top of one eye, before dipping down in between both eyes and arcing over the other one in the shape of a number 3.

Buck began to blush slightly like he previously did earlier.

Mira and Cheryl stood side by side, amazed by both the Pokemon and Buck's performance.

"That," Mira told Buck, "was brilliant."

Buck smiled a little sheepishly. "Thanks, I guess. I'm hoping to perform with the theme of 'tough' in mind, since Baltoy here is pretty defensive."

He kneeled by his Pokemon and held the Great ball within his hands. "Alright, future star of Sinnoh contests, back in the ball with you for now."

Baltoy obliged, and allowed itself to be encased back inside its miniature home.

Turtwig, who had woken up from all the commotion, cried out all of a sudden out of happiness from whatever it had been dreaming about.

All three of them grinned at how adorable the Grass-type was.

* * *

Mira, Cheryl and Buck continued down Route 203 while having a merry discussion about various different topics. Turtwig had fallen back asleep as usual, and was making little snoring noises.

"Just asking," Buck said out of the blue, "but have either of you tried contests before?"

"Mira hasn't," Mira replied, "but I don't know about Cheryl."

"I've tried contests before," Cheryl explained, "but they never really clicked with me. I've never been able to think up amazing combinations for moves that would appeal the audience. The best one I could try was a Water Pulse that had been zapped by a Thunder Wave, causing the Water to create a small show in the air, but then it didn't entirely work, and then some stuff happened and I ended up splashing the audience a bit, and I think it kind of ended up as a disaster, and apparently the appeal wasn't all up for that. Or I didn't have poffins. Either way-"

"Wait, poffins?" Buck asked with a tone that suggested confusion, while also ignoring Cheryl's story about her first contest. "I've never heard of poffins before. I've used Pokeblocks, but that's just about it. Are poffins the equivalent?"

Cheryl shrugged. "I guess. Poffins are food which increase a Pokemon's appeal in a contest. Each of the five different poffins will help improve the Pokemon's health in different ways that will attract certain types of audiences. For example, if your Baltoy there ate a yellow poffin, it would help it to become stronger. However, if someone gave this Turtwig here, say, a green poffin, it would help increase the Pokemon's intellect and this appeal to an audience who enjoys contest performances that mainly focus on strategy. Is that how a Pokeblock works?"

Buck nodded. "Yep. I guess they're just a Hoenn thing. Either way, my Baltoy has stuffed itself on Pokeblocks, so unless a strong opponent in a contest comes then-"

"Woah!" Mira suddenly cried out as she tripped over something and began to fall, before Buck grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her feet.

As Mira sighed with relief, she looked down at the Pokemon which was by her feet - the very same Pokemon she had nearly tripped over.

"Hey guys," Mira said, "Mira thinks she might know why she tripped, now. Look down."

Cheryl and Buck peered at the small Pokemon that stood at Mira's feet.

Its shape gave off the qualities of a cat. A small, baby-blue head was pointed up at Mira. The circular ears on either side of its head appeared to have golden star shapes within them, while the eyes stared with a similar colour. The front half and the back paws of its body were the same blue colour, while the rear half of its body and its tail were a deep black. On the end of a tail resided another gold star.

The Pokemon grinned at Mira, before running off ahead of her, Cheryl and Buck.

"What was what thing?" Buck asked Cheryl in exasperation.

Cheryl shook her head, before talking quickly. "Shinx, it's an Electric-type and hangs around this area. That one appeared to be a little mischievous-"

"Guys!" Mira called out to them before running after the Shinx. "Mira wants to try catch it! It looks so cute!"

As she continued to scamper after the Pokemon Cheryl had called Shinx, Cheryl and Buck looked at each other, shrugged, and sped off after her.

Mira tried to keep her rhythm along the bumps in the path, keeping track of where the Shinx was going.

All of a sudden she tripped on a stray tree root, her entire body coming close to slamming to the ground before-

For the second time today, Buck pulled her back onto her feet.

"Are you ok?" He asked, while Cheryl caught up behind him.

Mira nodded. "Mira's fine. But Mira wants to know where that Pokemon went. Mira thought it was very cute and wanted to catch it!"

Cheryl looked around the area where they were standing.

Nothing that looked extremely obvious at first.

"As far as I can see," she recalled to Mira and Buck, "its hidden."

Mira sighed. "Are you sure we can't find it anymore?"

Cheryl shrugged. "If you're really dedicated then you might stand a chance."

"But-"

Mira was about to start another sentence, but she was interrupted by a small glowing blur erupting from the trees, before it set itself down on the path in front of Mira.

All three of them didn't move as the blur came into focus.

The Shinx from before now stood facing where it had just erupted from the border of the trees, but its fur was glowing brightly with static energy. It growled slightly as it stood, a look of intense fury on its face that appeared to be staring at something in the trees.

"...What just happened?" Buck asked after a small pause.

Cheryl didn't take her eyes off the small Electric-type. "Shinx are known to glow brightly with electricity when they sense danger. So that means-"

Another blur emerged from the same gap in the trees that Shinx had exploded from, and settled on the ground a couple of metres away from it.

The second blur made itself out to be a brown, quadruped Pokemon with tiny flipper-like feet. Its head was extremely fluffy, with a cream-coloured patch residing on the front for its face. Small, beady eyes glared at the Shinx, while its mouth was mostly covered by two large, white teeth. A small, pouffy tail twitched slightly.

Nobody, not even the Pokemon, moved for a moment.

Then the brown Pokemon began charging towards the Shinx like there was no tomorrow.

The Shinx began to gather its electric energy in a move that Mira recognised as Charge.

But it wasn't going to be fast enough if the brown Pokemon had any say in the matter.

Closer and closer the brown Pokemon came.

Closer and closer, until-

Something small and yellow appeared suddenly in its path.

"Abra, use Bide!" Called out Mira.

Cheryl and Buck could see the Psychic-type begin to tense up slightly, as it prepared for the attack that was about to hit it.

The brown Pokemon, which was completely unaware about the situation it had gotten itself into, collided with the Abra.

Abra cried out as it was thrown back by the impact, but didn't fall. It remained focused, gathering more and more energy until Mira gave the final call.

"Release the Bide energy, Abra!"

The brown Pokemon couldn't escape as it was blasted with blinding energy that everyone turned away from to avoid damaging their eyes.

When it was safe to look again, all three of them could see the Shinx (with its fur back to normal) and Abra next to each other, facing the fainted form of the fluffy foe.

Cheryl shook her head, although it was hard to tell whether it was out of amazement or disapproval. "That right there was a Bidoof. It seems that it and that Shinx had some kind of rivalry, in which the Bidoof was winning. Abra right there just helped save Shinx from getting injured."

Shinx growled slightly, almost in approval of what Cheryl had said.

Mira called back Abra, before rummaging through her backpack for something.

It wasn't long before she brought out a Poke ball, and before Shinx could react in any way it was encased in the bright-red and white sphere.

It juddered a few times, before a pinging sound signified the capture.

Mira punched the air in success, and rushed over to where the Poke ball had settled in the grass. She instantly let out the Pokemon that resided inside it.

Shinx formed once again in front of the trio, a look of surprise on its face at the event that had just occurred.

Then its face broke out into a little cheeky grin, and it began running round and round, snaking in between Mira's legs in the hope of tripping her up again.

Buck smiled at its antics. "Well, Cheryl, you were right in saying it was very mischievous."

Mira cried out, before beginning to giggle. "Alright, Shinx, get back into the Poke ball."

The Electric-type ground to a halt in front of Mira, before returning to the red sphere it was now calling home.

Mira placed the ball carefully back in its respective pocket inside her bag, before hoisting it onto her back. "Mira just caught a new Pokemon!"

Cheryl smiled, while Buck gave her a thumbs-up.

"Anyway," Cheryl said, "we have places to go and things to do. Let's get a move on."

Just before they continued, however, Buck stopped beside the Bidoof and kneeled down.

"I was thinking," he explained, "we shouldn't just leave it out in the wild in this state. That wouldn't be too fair. I think we should bring it with us, heal it at the next Pokemon centre and let it back out. If that doesn't work, then I guess I've got a new team member. Either way, this is the best thing to do."

He picked it up from the floor and looked at the two girls.

"Well," Mira told him, "Cheryl gained her Starly in a similar way, so Mira guesses you'll end up owning it."

Buck shrugged. "It's pretty cute, in a derpy way."

Their conversation was interrupted by the cry of a waking Turtwig, which caused all three to break out into grins as their adventure continued.

* * *

 _While simply trying to walk down Route 203 with Cheryl and Buck, the latter of whom had admitted his goal was to become a Pokemon coordinator, Mira accidentally stumbled over the Electric-type Pokemon, Shinx. After it ran away from her, the trio was forced by Mira to look for it since she found the cat-like creature so adorable that she wanted to catch it! And, sure enough, the Shinx was found, but not without it being chased by a Bidoof with a vendetta against the Pokemon! However, Mira's Abra saved the Electric-type, before the young girl caught it happily. Buck sympathised with the fainted Bidoof, though, and so chose to carry it with the group to the next Pokemon centre in Jubilife City. What adventures await Mira's most recent capture? What is the fate of the injured Bidoof? The journey continues!_

* * *

 **Hello dear reader! I'm releasing this part a day early due to the fact that I'm off to a friend's house for a sleepover tomorrow and I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload it then. As it is, I hope you enjoy this new capture chapter arriving earlier than expected!**


	7. Part 7: A Threat, Kind Of

"You know," Mira told Cheryl, "you're pretty amazing when it comes to knowing stuff about Pokemon. You knew about Happiny, Starly and now Shinx - without scanning them into your Pokedex! Mira thinks that is awesome!"

Cheryl smiled slightly and blushed. "I just enjoy reading books about Pokemon. I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I know enough to keep safe walking up and down these routes."

Mira pressed her point. "But that's still really impressive! Mira thinks you could follow a goal involving knowing a lot about Pokemon behaviour-"

"Guys," Buck told them while cradling the injured Bidoof in his arms, "have you seen the horizon yet? We've reached Jubilife City. Now all we need to do is walk this final bit of path."

It wasn't too long before they finally set foot in the gargantuan maze of buildings and paths. Cheryl wasn't lying when she said that somebody could get lost easily - Mira and Buck could barely see anywhere themselves.

"The Pokemon centre's this way," Cheryl told the two younger kids, implying that they should follow her through the twisting, turning streets that seemed to never end.

It was a relief for all three when they broke out of the crowd and into the warmth of the Pokemon Centre, where Mira abruptly found a blue cushion to lounge about on and Buck and Cheryl wandered up to the nurse behind the counter.

"Ok," Buck told the nurse without giving her a chance to greet them, "we've got a fainted Bidoof here. Would it be too much to heal it?"

The woman shook her head. "Of course it wouldn't be too much for me! Come on right in to the back room!"

As Buck and the nurse disappeared into the doorway, Cheryl looked back at Mira. "Hey, are you sure you're not gonna ask for your Pokemon to be healed as well?"

Mira groaned slightly. "But Mira finds the cushion comfortable..."

Cheryl sighed. "Come on. It's better to just get it over and done with, then you can sink into a cushion for the rest of today if you so wished. You can even snuggle with Turtwig here, if you want, just come on right now."

Mira rolled her eyes, but obeyed.

* * *

Mira sighed as she placed her foot up on the wall.

She had spent the last half an hour inside the room her, Cheryl and Buck had booked up for the night, and although the sky was only just beginning to change from day to evening, Mira had disappeared up into their room because she still wasn't feeling that energised after having to run from halfway along route 201 to Sandgem Town for the sake of Cheryl's Starly.

That was something Mira noted that was different between her and Cheryl - she had slightly less stamina than her older friend.

She had told Cheryl and Buck that she was feeling a little drowsy (or Drowsee as she noted in her head later), and wanted to rest in bed for a little while, before hopping on the escalator that led to the upper floor rooms.

At that moment she realised how utterly bored she had become without anything to do. She couldn't even bring out a Pokemon of her own since all three of them were being healed. At least she had her TV console at home...

Turtwig was sleeping beside her, making the odd snoring noise as it did so. Mira stared at it for a moment, and appreciated how it was so derpy and adorable.

The silence surrounding her was suddenly disturbed as an enthusiastic redhead barrelled through the door, followed by a forest-green haired teenage girl, which caused Mira to nearly fall out of bed in surprise.

To nobody's surprise, Turtwig remained asleep.

Buck rushed over to the bedside, not caring that he had just frightened the life out of Mira. "Guess what me and Cheryl just managed to do?"

Mira slowed down her panicked breathing slightly before replying. "Mira doesn't know, but you scared her out of her wits!"

Buck shrugged apologetically, before going straight back to his point. "But look at what she managed to get out in the city!"

He dumped his backpack on the end of Mira's bed, and searched through it until he came across what he was looking for.

He brought out the object triumphantly, before displaying it in front of Mira.

As far as she could see, it appeared to be a cuboid-shaped yellow box, made from some kind of plastic. Around the area between the lid and bottom, there ran two orange strings of the same plastic substance that acted as the seal for the box.

Mira stared at it.

"... it's a box."

Buck nodded. "Yes, of course it's a box! But it's the items inside the box that are the best!"

He pulled at the two box sections until a small clicking noise signified they had separated. He lifted the lid and showed Mira what was encased within.

Five small devices were located on a cushion that fitted neatly inside the box. The five devices were all the same in make - a miniature screen located on a strap fit for the wrist, with two buttons on the screen's right - but each was a different colour. Mira recognised them as the device Barry was wearing back in Twinleaf Town.

"Aren't they cool?" Buck insisted, "there was a promotion going on where they were giving out unique Poketches to people who could find the three harlequins in the city, and since Cheryl knows this place like the back of her hand, she located them no problem! There's the classic pink and blue ones, but they've also released promotional red, green and white ones!"

Cheryl sat down beside Buck's backpack at the end of the bed. "I thought you'd like the pink one, so I didn't hesitate to try and get that promotion. Do you like it?"

Mira paused, before a wide smile spread across her face.

"Awesome."

Buck nodded. "They are, aren't they? The ones we don't use will be spares for now. Come on, let's put these on!"

Mira grinned, before picking up the pink Poketch (as Buck had called it) and wrapping the strap around her left wrist and fastening the buckle.

If Mira was honest with herself, she didn't even know what a Poketch did. She just thought it looked really cool, and Buck seemed to like it, so she guessed it was pretty good.

"Now all you need to do is press one of the two buttons," Buck explained as he fastened the red Poketch around his own wrist.

Mira obeyed, pushing one of the small buttons lightly.

The screen suddenly lit up, and a screen displaying the current time flashed before her.

"That's just the default setting," Cheryl told her as she switched on her chosen Poketch, the green one. "Pressing the two buttons will scroll through all the apps pre-downloaded onto it. Top button scrolls up, bottom button scrolls down."

Mira was still not entirely sure what was going on with this small device, but for the sake of pure aesthetics Mira couldn't help but be thrilled. She pressed the top button once, and the screen became blank.

"What?" Mira informed the other two, "the screen just went blank. What's meant to be happening here?"

Cheryl found her way to beside Mira and looked at Mira's Poketch. "I think I know what that is. It's meant to show the current Pokemon on your team, plus their health and status. If they're fainted or have status conditions, their sprites on the screen blank out. They're not on yours right now because your Pokemon are being healed."

Mira nodded. "That makes sense-"

"Oh yeah!" Came a cry from the end of the bed that caused both girls to roll their eyes.

"What is it, Buck?" Cheryl called out to him, exasperated at her temporary companion's behaviour. She wasn't as excited as Buck about the Poketch since she had seen Barry's on multiple occasions, and Mira didn't know what she had just gotten herself into, so the both of them were quickly growing tired of Buck's fanboying.

The redhead rushed over to their side and showed them his screen. "You didn't say these were the Poketch's most recent make!"

Cheryl sighed. "The harlequin-clown guy literally stated it to our faces."

Buck shrugged, before continuing on with his point. "I'd heard that the Poketch company was collaborating with the Cross-Transceiver brand in Unova, but I never knew that their project together was released! That's awesome!"

Mira, who was even more confused than previously, tried pressing the top button a couple more times.

A graphic rolled into view that read "xTransceiver", before it disappeared and was replaced with a small rectangle at the top of the screen. The words on the rectangle read "Contacts".

"Hey!" Buck interrupted Mira's train of thought. "How about we register each other's Poketch into the Cross-Transceiver app? Then we'll be able to talk to each other if we get lost in Jubilife or something!"

Cheryl nodded, although it only looked half hearted since she was gaining a very faint headache from the boy's currently uncontrollable volume scale.

However, Mira noticed that Turtwig was fast asleep despite all the commotion going on in the room. Of course.

* * *

"There you go! All healed up!"

Mira had told the other two that she'd remain behind at the Pokemon centre and would inform them when the Bidoof was healed, before sinking deeply into a yellow cushion in the main lobby. Cheryl had taken Turtwig out to see the city, so Mira had been left alone to study the books within the bookshelves. She had been pouring through a particularly interesting fantasy manga when the nurse had informed her of the news that she could finally get her Pokemon back.

As she forced herself out of the Mira-shaped crease in the cushion, she followed the nurse to the back room.

"Here are your Poke balls," the nurse told her, picking them up from a tray. "So far we've only fully healed up your team. However, it shouldn't be too long before the Bidoof is alright!"

Mira nodded and smiled, placing the Poke balls back into her bag. There she turned around and exited the back room, returning to the main lobby and the massive cushion.

Just as Mira was about to collapse back into the cushion, a sudden beeping noise startled her.

She looked down at her Poketch, which was flashing with a message:

"INCOMING XTRANSCEIVER CALL - PRESS ANY BUTTON TO PICK UP"

Mira, in a panicked state, simply pressed the lower button beside the main screen.

The message was replaced with what looked like a live camera, showing Cheryl standing somewhere in the city. She didn't look too happy.

"Mira," Cheryl told her, "I didn't realise I'd have to use the Cross-Transceiver so soon, but we've gotten into a desperate situation."

"What?" Mira called out to the screen. "What's happened?"

Cheryl stared back at her. "Turtwig has been stolen. Buck and I have been trying to tail the people who have taken it, but so far to no avail. I need you to help us look. From the Pokemon centre, turn left and walk down to the next crossroads, before turning left again. You'll then be on the Main Street, where we are currently located. Just run down the path and you should see us."

Mira nodded. "Mira will come and help!"

Cheryl winked back at her. "Glad to have you with us."

Then the call ended, and was replaced with the current time once more.

Mira darted out of the door to the Pokemon centre, following Cheryl's instructions to the letter. Down the path to the crossroads... turn left... run down the Main Street...

She spotted Cheryl and Buck at the end. She waved, and began edging nearer with every blazing step she was taking.

Her running streak was interrupted by a sudden clash between her and a stranger emerging from the crossroads beside her.

Mira turned to the stranger, and was about to apologise for colliding with them, before she spotted the sleeping Turtwig residing in their arms.

Mira looked up at the stranger's face, and asked two simple questions. "Who are you? And why do you have my friend's Turtwig?"

The stranger, a woman with light green hair that fell to her shoulders and a strange suit coloured shades of grey with a bright yellow "G" in the centre of her chest, merely grinned. "Why, young girl, I can answer both questions right now! One, my name is Camille of Team Galactic, and two, I'm stealing your friend's Turtwig so that Team Galactic can use it for themselves!"

She was expecting a shocked and panicked reaction from Mira. What she got instead was a look of confusion.

"Who is Team Galactic?"

Camille began to look a little uneasy. "You... don't know who Team Galactic is?"

At that moment, three more people joined the scene.

From up the Main Street path, Buck and Cheryl finally managed to get to Mira's position, and they began gasping for air out of sheer exhaustion.

From the crossroads that Camille had emerged from, a man with short-cut, spiky orange hair wearing a similar suit to Camille's caught up to the commotion, and was also gasping for air.

There was a sudden awkward moment where nobody said anything as the three new arrivals to the scene got their breath back.

Then the other man on Camille's side spoke up, albeit with gasps for air in between each word.

"Fear... Team Galactic's... strongest... grunt... none other... than... Brett!"

Camille turned to her companion, put Turtwig under her left and gave him a slap to the face with the other hand. "You could've at least come a little earlier, you useless buffoon! We could've done our intro and everything!"

The three children were now extremely confused as to what was going on in this situation.

"Camille... you know you're... much fitter... than me!" The man named Brett cried out in annoyance.

Cheryl interrupted the argument. "What are thugs like Team Galactic doing here, in Jubilife City, stealing people's Pokemon? Why don't you just hang out in the Galactic Eterna building, waiting for people to hand them to you on a silver plate? I thought it wasn't the Team Galactic way to actually go out and do something."

Brett, who had slowly but surely regained his breath, straightened his posture and glared at Cheryl. "It wasn't working for us. So we've had to go to more desperate measures. Of course, it's not much of an issue for us to take a sleeping Pokemon from the arms of a mere girl."

"Except it is," Camille butted in bitterly, "we may have gotten the Pokemon, but Brett here got us lost."

Brett whimpered slightly. "It's not my fault! This city is just massive!"

Camille shook her head at her hopeless friend, and returned to glaring at Cheryl and Buck. "Well, either way, you're not going to get this Pokemon back-"

She was suddenly cut short by a young girl, who had sneaked up behind her while she and Brett were monologuing and grabbed Turtwig from under her arm.

Mira clutched the Pokemon tightly, and with a cry of success rushed back over to her friend's side.

Camille stared at what just happened, a look of pure dismay on her face. "...What?! Did you really just do that?!"

Brett shook his head in despair. "How did you just defeat Team Galactic's finest grunt, without even battling?"

Camille replaced her sour disappointment with a bitter smile, hiding how defeated she felt inside. "We'll leave you for now, but you'll bet that we will find you again. And we will snatch that Turtwig away before you can say Team Galactic!"

And with that, her and Brett turned away from them and began running as fast as they possibly could in order to avoid any police catching them.

Mira turned to Cheryl, and gave her back her Turtwig, who was somehow still asleep.

"Thanks, Mira!" Cheryl told her with a bright smile, "I don't know what I would've done if you weren't there!"

Mira smiled faintly. "You're welcome, Cheryl."

"Ah!" Cried a voice from behind them, startling all three of them slightly.

A man with black hair and a brown trench coat was rushing towards them.

When he stopped in front of the trio, he explained his point. "Where did those Team Galactic grunts rush off to! Those evil-doers are under report from the International Police!"

He suddenly realised he had an audience, and the audience of three was looking at him and wondering what he was rambling on about.

"You three!" He suddenly cried out, "do you know about the Team Galactic? And could you help me with tracking down them?"

Buck shrugged. "I guess we could help. Who even are you?"

The man stared at Buck. "Ah, I am... wait! You must only refer to me by my code name. That code name, it is Looker! I am a member of the International Police, sent here to search for and take down the Team Galactic!"

Cheryl nodded slowly. "Ok... we'll be sure to keep a lookout."

The man smiled brightly. "Brilliant!"

And without even asking how to contact the three of them, the man sped away to continue his goal.

Mira shook her head. "That man... he doesn't even know how we'll tell him if we find anything... he may be important, but he sure is naive."

* * *

As Cheryl gripped her Turtwig as tightly as her strength allowed her to, she intently listened to her younger companions and their discussions while all three of them wandered back to the Pokemon centre.

"Those people were some of the weirdest people I've ever met," Buck was telling Mira, "and they were probably some of the stupidest people, too."

Mira shrugged. "Mira has seen stupider. Just a few days ago, Mira and Cheryl met a man who claimed to be trying to reach the Lake Spirits of Sinnoh, which is highly unlikely to ever happen. Then again, it takes many kinds of people to make the world go round..."

Mira then realised she had a question that, so far, had gone unanswered.

"Who even are those Team Galactic people? They don't hang around near Hearthome City at all."

Cheryl perked up, since she knew a lot about the team - one of their bases resided in Eterna City, the working place of her mother.

"Team Galactic has been around for about seven years now. Nobody is really sure what their main goal is, but what people do know is that they set up places for people to donate Pokemon to them like objects. They believe that people who are stupid enough will just give them Pokemon so they don't have to use any effort themselves trying to catch something. This trade system has made Team Galactic extremely unpopular, and since the law either doesn't know or doesn't care, nobody can report it. One thing that everyone is sure of, however, is that nobody has a single clue who the leader is. Apparently the leader doesn't really advertise who they are, and they never really stay in one place, either. That's just about all I've been able to gather on the group, since they really don't concern me that much."

There was a small pause before Mira replied.

"They sound like awful people. Mira thinks that people should do something about it, and if not, Mira wants to sort it out herself."

Buck perked up. "I don't know as much about Galactic as Cheryl does, but I do know that they are a huge group of people. If you wanted to defeat them on your own or with us then we probably wouldn't stand much of a chance at all - the only way I could see us even having a chance is if we defeated the leader, and not only do we not know who they are, but our Pokemon wouldn't be strong enough at all."

The three of them turned the corner to see none other than the Pokemon centre nurse rushing up the path to them, slowing down as she found herself in front of them.

"You... three..." the nurse began to say, her breath being drawn and released sharply out of exhaustion.

"What is it?" Cheryl asked, a concerned tone enveloping her usual bright voice.

The nurse took a quick moment to find her normal breathing pattern, before looking at the three with a bright smile.

"The Bidoof's been all healed up. Feel free to take it away from our custody."

* * *

The evening air that day felt calm. Starlys were singing their love songs, honey trees rustled with Combees and, legends told if someone was especially lucky, they would get a chance to see a bright purple comet in the sky which said legend claimed to be Palkia keeping space in order.

This peaceful atmosphere, however, was suddenly interrupted by the shrill screech of a furious young woman.

"You idiot!" Camille yelled to her companion as they dragged their feet down Route 205, even though the man was only a few feet away from her. "You had one job, and you completely flopped it!"

Brett sighed. "For the hundredth time, Jubilife City is massive. The two of us have never been there before, so I was completely stumped on what to do at all! And you can't pass as completely innocent for this either, you know."

Camille shrugged and crossed her arms. "I wouldn't have even encountered those people and been distracted if the man who was meant to guide me, the supposed 'strongest' grunt in Team Galactic, ended up getting left in the dust because of his uselessness."

Brett made to reply, but a stabbing glare his way shut his mouth right up.

Camille began on a tangent. "Now look at us. We failed our mission to a bunch of kids, we didn't get to do our intro, and we're going back to base empty-handed. Jupiter's gonna be so mad at us like always..."

Brett turned to her. "If I'm so bad at all my missions I do with you, why do you even keep me around?"

Camille chose to give the same dismissive response as always.

"I thought I'd told you already. Jupiter always sections us off together for missions, giving me the orders since I'm a higher rank of grunt, and I don't want the mission to fail by abandoning you. Don't tell me you'd already forgotten, you dummy."

* * *

 _When the trio reached Jubilife City, Buck and Cheryl left Mira at the Pokemon centre since she was tired, and the two of them explored in Jubilife. After returning with the most modern make of Poketches within their grasp, they made leave again, only for disaster to strike with Turtwig being stolen! Mira rushed out of the centre, only to encounter the culprits - Brett and Camille, two Grunts of an organisation Cheryl is familiar with - Team Galactic! Fortunately, Turtwig was returned safe and sound, and when the two Grunts made leave, a mysterious yet naive police officer codenamed Looker asked the trio if hey could help track down what the team was doing! After such an eventful day in the city, will all the questions arising from it be answered? The journey continues!_

* * *

 **Hello dear reader! Firstly, I'M SO SORRY FOR THIS BEING A DAY LATE! I can be a little scatty sometimes, but I'll try and keep to the schedule. Secondly, this part was one I really enjoyed writing. Yes, I do have OCs to be the "Team Rocket" of the fic, and I hope you enjoy their personalities and later developments! Next part will not have much advancing in the present day, and focus more on backstories, so look forward to that! Again, sorry for the late part, and I hope you enjoy!**


	8. Part 8: Reflections of Our Pasts

Buck stared out at the night sky from the bedroom window, holding a brown, fluffy Pokemon in his arms and only taking in half of the commotion going on in the other side of the room.

As the group had returned to the Pokemon centre, Mira and Cheryl had realised that they'd forgotten to register all their caught Pokemon in Cheryl's Pokedex, and so all three of them agreed to sort it out after the wild Bidoof had been picked up and all four ate a scrumptious dinner.

As they had picked up the Bidoof, however, it seemed to be particularly clingy to the trainer who had carried it in his arms to safety, sitting on his lap back downstairs while he had been lounging on a particularly soft cushion.

Buck realised it really cared for him, and became attached to the furball. Everyone agreed that it was for the best if he captured it, since their bond was already beginning to grow, but just before Buck encased the Pokemon in a normal Poke ball offered by Mira, he suddenly became extremely picky and claimed that the aesthetics of the said Poke ball clashed with the brown colours of the Bidoof, and wouldn't be good for a contest appeal at all. Cheryl had thought for moment, before offering him a Nest ball and saying that in her eyes, it suited the Pokemon perfectly.

The rest was easy to decipher.

Buck's train of thought was interrupted by Cheryl calling his name.

"Hey, Buck, Come on over! Stop daydreaming, this is really fun!"

Buck grinned faintly, before hopping off his bed and sitting down on the floor with Cheryl and Mira.

"Buck," Mira told him, "could you please put your Bidoof down, just for a moment? It needs to be registered."

"Sure thing."

He placed the brown Pokemon in front of him, where it promptly sat down and began staring back at Buck with a questionable look in its eyes.

"Don't worry, Bidoof," Buck told it, "a Pokedex isn't dangerous."

Cheryl aimed the Pokedex scanner at Bidoof.

"Bidoof," she said softly, "turn this way now."

Now reassured by Buck's words, the small furball turned to face Cheryl, a smile on its face being partly hidden by its two giant front teeth.

"And three... two... one... there we go!"

A small pause occurred while the Pokedex processed its newfound data, before it began spewing out information.

"Bidoof, the Plump Mouse Pokemon. Bidoofs tend to make nests beside water. It gnaws on rocks and trees in order to keep its front teeth from growing too long."

As the Pokedex continued spewing out height and weight calculations, Bidoof, now knowing its job had been completed, made to find its way back to Buck's lap and settle down inside it.

"Well... that's interesting," Cheryl said. "We're gonna have to find something for that little guy there to chew on if it needs to."

Buck gently lifted Bidoof from on top of his legs. "I think I've got an idea."

He made his way over to his bag, before unzipping it and scavenging inside it for something.

It wasn't long before he brought out the item he was looking for.

As he drew it from his bag, Mira and Cheryl caught a glance at what he was holding - a white, oval-shaped rock.

He brought it back over, found his place on the floor again and gave the rock to Bidoof, who instantly began munching on its surface.

"I found this rock ages ago," Buck told them, "back when I still lived in Hoenn. I was extremely young at the time, but kept it with me for all my life. I brought it with me to Jubilife as almost a lucky token, an item to reassure me that my contest routine that I'd been practising would go alright. Now it turns out it has a secondary use."

Mira and Cheryl watched the Bidoof try to bite through the rock with a hint of amusement on their faces.

The Bidoof tried to get a particularly large part of the rock by leaning back, but the weight of said rock caused it to overbalanced and fall onto its back.

Mira and Cheryl burst out laughing, while Buck smiled and lifted the Plump Mouse Pokemon back into its sitting position.

During all the commotion, none of them spotted Happiny's Poke ball, which had been placed outside Cheryl's bag for Pokedex registration, beginning to twitch uncontrollably at the presence of the rock.

* * *

Later that night, the three of them all called it a day on the celebrations and sent themselves off to bed.

However, none of them were trying to get to sleep. All three were lost in thought.

As Mira stared at the wall beside her, she thought about her journey so far. Already it had taken turns she wasn't previously expecting - a new travelling companion, plus another who was only meant to be staying temporarily, had joined her, she had been nearly destroyed by a cave-in, she had met new people -welcome or not - and captured new Pokemon, and she herself couldn't quite believe it. Her dreams of going on an adventure back when she had been younger were finally coming true.

And she wasn't even in too much danger this time.

Mira hadn't quite told Cheryl the entire truth of why her family moved to Sinnoh from Kanto.

Three years ago, Team Rocket had been at their highest peak in Kanto. The team wasn't a nice group of people at all - they would steal Pokemon, sell them for money, abuse them and, as one member of the Pokemon school had told her, apparently killed a Pokemon for seemingly no reason. There had also been rumours of them searching anyone for Pokemon, even if they didn't have any. At that time, Mira's mother had kept her at home, not allowing her to go to the school and only letting her go out if she accompanied her. It had been a nerve-wracking experience, but was solved in a sudden moment that Mira had the privilege to see herself.

She and her mother had been simply wandering through the city that day, going to buy groceries. Their walk, however, had been interrupted by an extremely interesting scene occurring outside the Viridian City Gym.

Several police cars were parked by the doors, and being walked out of said doors in handcuffs was none other than the Gym Leader, Giovanni.

As it turned out, the man was responsible for Team Rocket's actions, since he was the head of the organisation without anyone outside of it even knowing. His cover had been blown by a young trainer who had seen him working for the team before challenging him. Mira never knew the young trainer's name or even what they looked like, but she still thanked them from the bottom of her heart.

Mira's mum had been delighted, and for three years Mira continued to go to the school and enjoy life paranoia-free.

Before, about six months ago, things escalated again.

Apparently, Team Rocket had been regrouping in the Johto region, literally next door to Kanto, and the odds of them spreading to Mira's home region had been extremely high.

Her mother was devastated. She had been planning for Mira to start her Pokemon adventure, and just before it was ready, the fear had returned and stabbed at her heart.

Not knowing what else to do, she had fled Kanto with Mira, away from everything they had previously been accustomed to, to a region which she hoped wouldn't be as dangerous.

And the rest is history.

Mira hadn't exactly lied to Cheryl. She had just left out information she wasn't willing to talk about.

* * *

Buck had tried to let himself be embraced by the clutches of sleep, but gave up long ago.

For some reason, his mind kept wandering to back when he was a young kid in Hoenn, where he had been more naive to everything and his Baltoy had only been his companion for a few weeks.

Back then, he had never heard the legends of the Weather Trio - Groudon, Kyogre and Rayquaza - and he had no real reason to, either. Everything had been simpler - he hadn't realised how tough it'd be to plan for being a master coordinator, he hadn't realised how much his life would have to be twisted, he hadn't thought he'd need any other proper friend in his life other than his brother.

That simple outlook on life was shattered the moment Team Aqua and Team Magma both made moves that could've possibly destroyed everyone in the whole world.

It had been a simple, normal day. His brother had been helping him work out a contest strategy as they both sat outside in Slayeport City, when the sun had been beaming and the boat business had been booming, when before anyone could even react, the earth suddenly juddered.

It was only for a fleeting moment, but just about everyone in the city stumbled, most civilians tripping up over their own feet and sprawling across the path, Buck and his brother included.

Once the two had regained their senses, they instantly rushed back to their house and asked their parents nervously about what they should do.

Weather reports from the Route 119 weather institute later that day claimed that one side of Hoenn was growing oddly warm, while the other had been raining considerably more than the typical shower. Both these reports, coupled with the tremors the whole region had felt in the same day, had told Buck's family all they needed to know.

A storm was brewing. And it wasn't a pretty one involving rainbows and dewdrops. From what Buck had been able to gather from reading up on Hoenn's lore afterwards, it was highly likely to involve earthquakes, extreme weather conditions and two demigod-tier Pokemon duking it out somewhere in the Sootopolis area.

Buck's family didn't want to stay somewhere that was highly likely to become a war zone for natural disasters at all, which led them to move to Sinnoh, a place that was meant to be safer since it contained no natural-disaster-causing Pokemon, genetically modified psychic DNA creatures, giant birds with the potential to cause mass death or anything of the sort. At least, that was what Buck's brother had told him. He wasn't sure if all of them were true, but if he was honest with himself, it didn't matter much to him these days.

A few days after the move was complete, news had come in about how Hoenn was doing. Apparently Groudon and Kyogre had indeed awoken, and for a short amount of time the Hoenn region had been stuck in polar weather conditions and constant tremors, but the issue was resolved when help came in the form of three people - a young trainer who said they'd rather not go on television, a man who was known for being the son of the Devon Corporation head and the champion of Hoenn, a contest star who had a knack for battling. Together the three of them had managed to summon the guardian of the sky, Rayquaza, before it flew down and broke up the fight that had occurred.

Since the champion of Hoenn had been one of Buck's inspirations to go out and become a coordinator, this had further influenced Buck into practising hard, before just a day or two ago, he was finally allowed to begin his adventure.

And since then, he had met two girls who now felt extremely important to him. He knew that he was only meant to stay with them until the three of them reached Floaroma Town, but they now felt like they were treating him as a proper companion, and a new friend.

Now, Buck thought, what if he told them tomorrow that he wanted to be more than a temporary companion?

* * *

For lack of a better thing to do as she gazed at the ceiling, Cheryl brought Turtwig closer to her and stroked it gently as it snored quietly.

She had been so nervous earlier on that day when Turtwig was nearly stolen by Team Galactic. She had no idea what they'd do to it, whether they'd treat it kindly or harshly, and whether she'd ever get a chance of seeing it again or not. The little green turtle had become extremely important to her, and she didn't know how she'd be able to cope with it being taken away by such an unkind organisation.

As far as Cheryl could remember, she had been extremely sensitive to Pokemon being harmed in any way. She guessed it stemmed from her childhood.

As a young girl, Cheryl wasn't old enough to stay in her mother's house on her own, and even back then her dad was off on a Pokemon trainer's journey. Due to this, she had to stay in Eterna City's Pokemon centre every evening and weekend after going to the trainer's school. It had been pretty luxurious, always having a warm, clean room to sleep in and extremely tasty meals each day, but it also came with its disadvantages.

At this point, Cheryl couldn't count the amount of times she had been forced to witness Pokemon who had been severely injured, whether it be from battles, accidents or reasons she didn't even know about at the time. And the reality had been impactful on such a young girl's mind.

Fortunately, one thing had been able to get Cheryl through all that.

Eventually, she opened up to her mother about how she didn't like having to witness so many cute creatures in pain, and her mother understood.

Since then, Cheryl had always held a book while at her mother's work, and she would lose herself in the lore of Sinnoh, the habits of the local Pokemon, and even some fictional stories with role models that she could root for. It was a way to distract her from reality, and it also managed to educate her on so many things she would've taken much longer to learn otherwise. She really had a lot to thank those books for.

When she turned ten years old, she was finally allowed to stay at her mother's house on her own. She was given a Happiny to keep her safe, and told to come back every couple of weeks to see her mother.

The next four years felt like they flew by. In that time she met Barry, saw Lake Verity for the first time and many other things alongside that, but it didn't stop her from executing the same routine once every so often of travelling to Eterna City and staying at the Pokemon centre for a day.

That is, until the day she had found Mira, passed out in the path.

At the time she had been extremely shocked at the young girl, before regaining her composure and rushing over to her side. She had no idea how she'd carry the girl anywhere, but then she remembered the nearby Abra

Abra had obliged. However, Cheryl had panicked as she thought of where to go, the first place settling in her mind being her house in Twinleaf.

And that moment was when Cheryl finally began doing more eventful things with her life.

And she was loving every minute of it, just as long as everybody and everything she cared for was safe.

* * *

All three of them did eventually fall asleep, but early in the morning they were welcomed with a harsh awakening by the gleaming sunrise.

"Ugh..." Mira said out loud, "why does the window have to be there? Just where the sun can burn into Mira's eyes at stupid-o-clock in the morning..."

Buck replied from his own bed. "Because of confusing logic. If I were them, I'd put it on the roof or something. At least then it will only be blinding when we've already left at midday."

Cheryl chimed in. "Yeah, we should make a petition or something, to replace all windows facing the sunrise with roof windows. I'm sure that would kick off perfectly."

Silence began to surround the atmosphere, before all three of began laughing.

* * *

 _After Buck caught Bidoof, all three members of our trio found themselves registering Pokemon into Cheryl's Pokedex after forgetting to at an earlier date. Afterwards, as all three tried to sleep that night, thoughts about their past kept plaguing them. Will their stories of their lives before this adventure play a role in future? Will they tell their full pasts to each other or keep them a solemn secret for the rest of their lives? The journey continues!_

* * *

 **Hello dear reader! Please forgive me, for I have released the part a day late once more. This time it was actual real life getting in the way instead of me forgetting, though, so I guess I have a somewhat excuse. This style of chapter writing will probably not come in again, at least for a LONG time, so if you don't like it then you can be grateful, but I just wanted to try a new way of writing. I also wanted to ground the trio's backstories without having them all exposition-dump each other. While this is still technically and exposition dump, it just felt a little smoother this way - their backstories are all rather sensitive topics that you wouldn't tell someone after only knowing them for a few days, and I wanted a reason for all their insecurities to exist to be shown early on. If this way of writing isn't appealing to you then I'm sorry, but if you like it then awesome! Next week we'll be back to the normal format, and we'll have foreshadowing, the return of Book Nerd Mira and certain characters making their comebacks!**


	9. Part 9: A Fairy Important Presentation!

Jubilife City at this particular time of day was surprisingly quiet. No adults were around because of work, and very few younger kids because of both the trainer's school and going to work with their parents, so the only people wandering the streets around where Buck, Mira and Cheryl walked were the odd retired couple or a few children late for school.

"You know," Buck suddenly told them, "I've thinking of something."

Cheryl turned her head to face him. "What?"

"Well," he said, "I've been thinking of how I've been travelling with you two over the past couple of days, and I've realised that, above all else, I've seriously enjoyed it. Talking to you, capturing Pokemon together, everything. At this point, I'm not sure if I'm as willing to simply leave you guys once we reach Floaroma Town as I was previously. So, my point is, would it be alright if I travelled with you? It'd mean that you might have to divert your path somewhere else away from the next gym whenever there's a contest hall nearby, but-"

"No, it's fine!" Mira interrupted, "Mira realised that she and Cheryl were getting along well with you over the past couple of days too! Mira would be very happy to travel with you!"

Cheryl nodded. "I'm perfectly fine with it, too. Welcome to the team, Buck."

Buck was practically beaming. "Awesome."

Their glee, however, was interrupted by a voice calling from behind them.

"Cheryl! Mira!"

The group turned around to see none other than Lucas thundering down the path towards them, nearly tripping over his own feet from the speed he was going at. He slowed down to a stop as he reached them.

"Hey, Lucas," Cheryl told him with a smile on her face, "what do you want us for?"

Lucas paused slightly as he tried to get his breath back, before speaking up. "Well, two things actually. One is that I'd recommend going to the trainer's school before you leave Jubilife, since they've just started doing lessons on a new discovery that's going to be crucial in both battling and Pokedex filling-"

"Awesome!" Mira interrupted. "I'm gonna need to go see that class if I'm gonna become Sinnoh's champion."

Lucas tried to hold in a sigh. "Good, but can I continue?"

The pink-haired girl nodded. "Sorry, go on."

"Right. So, the other thing is..."

He took his backpack off his shoulders, placing it on the path before kneeling beside and rummaging through it for something.

He took his Pokedex out of his bag, before closing it and hoisting it onto his back.

"I've been needing some motivation to fill my Pokedex recently, and I think the solution is to have a rival in finding and scanning Pokemon. I was thinking of Dawn, but she's always off doing her own thing and probably wouldn't even reply to me if I asked her since she almost never speaks. Barry was also an option, but I have literally no idea where he is. Meanwhile, I was sent by Professor Rowan to tell you about the new trainer's school lessons, and so I had an opportunity. So, Cheryl, could you be my Pokedex rival?"

Cheryl shrugged. "I'm not really as passionate as you for filling it up, but if being your rival helps us discover more about Pokemon faster, I'm all up for it."

Lucas grinned. "Thanks a ton! So, how many Pokemon have you scanned in so far?"

Cheryl took a moment to get her own Pokedex out of her bag, holding Turtwig under her arm as she did so. "Let's see... as of yet, I have successfully scanned eight Pokemon into my Pokedex, one of which was completely new to this region supplied by Buck here."

Lucas turned to Buck, who smiled a little sheepishly. "It's really not much, it's just a Pokemon originating from Hoenn that hadn't yet been added to Sinnoh's Pokedex."

"It still helps though," Lucas explained as he opened up his Pokedex. "Right... I've seen twenty different species."

He bit his lip. "Ah. I've seen a lot more than you. It only makes sense since I've been collecting data for a lot longer than you, but now my request seems a little odd. Ah well, I guess I could motivate you to develop your Pokedex, which will then make me think I have competition and go further out to find more Pokemon?"

Cheryl nodded. "I do feel a little more competitive now."

"Well I guess it worked out well," Lucas said with a sheepish smile, shutting his Pokedex. "Now, how about we all make our way to the trainer's school together? I need to hear this new information too."

* * *

The school building, Mira thought as she stood just in front of it, was pretty plain. It didn't really have anything that made it stand out from the other buildings in Jubilife City, and the only way anyone could really even tell it was a school upon first visiting would be to check the sign by the door. This made it feel particularly different to the trainer's school in Kanto, which had felt considerably larger and grander.

Mira thought about some of her memories created back in Kanto, and sighed. It wasn't really a negative sigh, however - more of a reflective one on how those old days felt so far behind her now, as her new adventure was unfolding right before her.

As she stepped into the building, her and the three others with her were confronted with a corridor branching to their left and right, with a staircase situated directly in front of them. A bright pink sign pinned to the staircase bannister read:

"TALK ON THE NEW DISCOVERY OF THE FAIRY TYPE - 12PM - CLASSROOM 2B"

Lucas pointed at the sign with a look of anticipation on his face. "That's where we're headed! As far as I can remember, classroom 2B is..." he pondered it for a moment.

"It's this way," Cheryl told him before he came up with an answer, "I remember this place like the back of my hand."

The small group wandered down the corridor, before coming across the door to the aforementioned classroom. As all four entered, they were confronted by a classroom filled with budding young trainers, all intently listening to a woman with black hair cropped to her shoulders and a lab coat by the blackboard at the end of the room.

"Ah!" The woman suddenly said upon their entrance. "More people just arriving! Feel free to sit or stand anywhere. You're lucky you arrived right now, I've only just began talking myself."

All of them smiled politely at the woman, before closing the door quietly behind them and finding a place to sit near the back of the room.

"Right," the woman began, "so, I'm here today to explain-"

Just as the speech was about to start up again, however, they were interrupted by the door suddenly bursting open again with two people standing in the doorway.

Mira looked at who it was and began beaming. "Barry! Dawn!"

Barry flashed a smile at Mira, before turning towards the woman at the front. "Hello! I'm very sorry if I arrived late or interrupted anything! I was about to leave the city, but then Dawn here said that there was this important talk going on and that it would be good for a trainer like me to hear it-"

"Alright, alright," the woman said reassuringly, "calm down. You're literally just on time, so you don't need to be worried. You two find somewhere to sit or stand, now."

Dawn instantly walked to Lucas's side without saying anything or making eye contact with anyone, before bringing up a chair and sitting beside him. Meanwhile, Barry sped over to Mira and Cheryl before simply sitting on the table nearest to them.

The woman sighed, as though she was internally feeling very exasperated, before masking it with a smile and starting up her speech. "Finally. So, I'm here today to explain a brand new discovery found by the Kalos region. If you saw the sign downstairs, then you should know that it's about the newly discovered Pokemon typing - the Fairy type. At first, several Pokemon from around the world that had previously been placed under the Normal typing were beginning to confuse scientists - the Pokemon seemed to have adapted over time, as while they used to only be weak to Fighting-typed moves, they were now completely unfazed by them. As scientists looked into this anomaly, they discovered certain other things - these Pokemon were becoming more effective at damaging Fighting, Dark and Dragon-types, with the latter's moves being completely ineffective against these adapted Pokemon. However,they seemed particular vulnerable to Poison and Steel-typed moves as a drawback to their newfound power. We realised that this was indeed a new type of Pokemon, and christened it the Fairy type. This new discovery has greatly affected Pokemon battling, and so that's why we sent out a notice for trainers to come here - so they could get the low-down on the new types. We are also offering a Pokedex upgrading service for anyone owning one. Any questions?"

A teen with black hair and a blue hat who was sitting next to Mira held up his hand.

"You at the back there," the woman said, pointing to him, "your question?"

The boy spoke clearly. "I was wondering how the type resistances would work. So Steel and Poison-types also resist Fairy as well as attacking well against it? And Fighting and Dark-types are also weak to Fairy as well as Fairy resisting it?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. Types that are weak to Fairy are also resisted by it, and types that are strong against Fairy also resist it. As an additional discovery, Fire-types also resist Fairy and Fairy also resists Bug-types. Does this make sense to you?"

The teen nodded. "Yes. Thanks."

The woman smiled slightly before looking at the rest of her audience. "Are there anymore questions?"

A few seconds passed of complete silence.

"Great!" The woman said happily. "Now that the main speech is over, feel free to either get a refresh on the typing advantages and disadvantages that the Fairy type holds, update your Pokedex with new information or, if you need to, you can simply leave."

All the kids began chatting among themselves, standing up from chairs and finding their way to either the door or the woman.

Cheryl looked at Mira. "Me, Barry, Lucas and Dawn all have to get the Pokedex upgrades. You and Buck can chat, or you can go read a book. I don't really mind too much."

Mira nodded. "Mira wanted to look at the books on the bookcase anyway."

* * *

Mira sat cross-legged by the bookshelf, immersed in the words of the first book that had piqued her interest.

"Aura is a strange energy that was first discovered many hundreds of years ago. Due to its properties and method of discovery, it is believed to be some sort of life force that runs through every living thing. Aura was found when a young scientist stumbled across a Pokemon named Riolu, which happened to have the special ability of bringing out its own aura from within itself and being able to utilise it as a tool for both battle and safety. To this day, every Riolu and its evolution, Lucario, have been able to use this ability, but very occasionally, another species of Pokemon will have an anomaly that can use aura, and even more rarely, a human. When aura is utilised by a human or Pokemon, it comes out in many different ways - however, the two most commonly seen are spheres and shields, both glowing blue. The-"

"Hey Mira!" Barry called out as he rushed towards where she was sitting. "I've got so much to talk about!"

She looked up at him. "Yeah?"

He sat down beside her as she closed the book. "I've been having so much fun already. I battled a couple of fellow trainers, caught a new Pokemon, met some new people and-" he glanced at her wrist, and then forgot about his last train of thought entirely. "Wait, is that a Poketch?!"

Mira looked at her wrist herself. "Yeah. Cheryl managed to get us this really cool promotional case of them. Hang on... does yours have the Cross-Transceiver feature?"

Barry nodded. "Yes! I got it when it was first released. Hey, why don't we register each other? I can also register Cheryl if she has one."

Mira grinned. "Hey, why not? You can register us. If you want you can also register Buck. He's the boy with the red hair who was with us when you first burst in. He's been travelling with us, and is also really kind."

Barry nodded. "He seems nice enough. Anyway, let's do this!"

The two of them swapped Cross-Transceiver numbers, registering them in their Poketches.

Afterwards, Barry looked at Mira with a slightly nervous look in his eyes. "Hey, Mira?"

"Yeah, what?" She replied curiously.

"I was wondering if you wanted to battle me once we get out of his class. Like, on Route 203 or somewhere. I've got a feeling I might lose, but I think I've gotten stronger. I want to prove that I've not been slacking as a trainer this whole time. Do you want to accept the offer?"

Mira looked directly at him. "Why not? Mira enjoys battles quite a lot! Mira will just ask Cheryl and Buck if they don't mind, and then hopefully get to battle you!"

Barry smiled. "Awesome."

* * *

The midday sun felt strangely cold to Mira today as her, Cheryl, Buck, Barry, Lucas and Dawn emerged from the school.

"So," Lucas told everyone, "me and Dawn are both going back to Sandgem Town now to see if Professor Rowan needs us for anything. See ya!"

"Bye!" The remaining four people waved at Lucas and Dawn as they walked back towards Jubilife City's southern entrance. Lucas waved back, but Dawn simply continued on without looking back.

"You know," Barry said once they were out of earshot, "I hope I don't sound rude, but I don't think I've ever had a harder time trying to talk to someone than when I was with Dawn. She's almost like a robot - she'll say what she's been told to say, and go where she needs to go, but won't do anything else. She doesn't talk about anything outside of the main topic at hand, and she doesn't show many of her emotions at all."

Buck piped up. "She might just be introverted, or maybe a little shy. Some people seem to just be like that. You can tell she feels a lot safer with Lucas, most likely because of a friendship bond, but apparently she doesn't even talk much to him either. I guess she may just be a really quiet person."

Cheryl shrugged. "You never know without talking to someone. Anyway, Barry, you said you were gonna battle Mira, so let's all head to Route 203 and let this battle get started."

At that moment all four of them were startled by Turtwig crying out as it woke up, causing a chain reaction of laughter.

* * *

 _As Buck asked to permanently join the duo of girls and the two accepted, they were confronted by one of Professor Rowan's assistants, Lucas, who asked all three if they could follow him to the the Pokemon School for a presentation. They all agreed, but not before Lucas asked Cheryl to be a rival to him in finding Pokemon for the Pokedex! Cheryl accepted as the four all went to the local Pokemon School, where the presentation was revealed to be about a brand-new Pokemon type - the Fairy Type! It was so important, in fact, that the meeting reunited Mira and Cheryl with Barry, who had been brought by Dawn - Professor Rowan's other assistant! After the presentation was over, Barry asked Mira for a battle, and Mira agreed! As the six trainers left the school and Lucas and Dawn made their way back to the professor's lab, what awaits the trio and Barry? The adventure continues!_

* * *

 **Hello dear reader! I'm so sorry I forgot to post on Tuesday again please forgive me. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this part! It mostly had exposition and foreshadowing (both for characters and later plot points ooh aren't I clever), but it should still be fun! Anyway, next part is, as expected from what Barry asked Mira, a new battle chapter! It's gonna be an even three-on-three match with unexpected twists and turns, with Shinx finally making its battle debut! I hope you're looking forward to it.**


	10. Part 10: Rematching a Hyper Friend!

A beam of light from the sun struck Mira's Poke ball as she held it out of her bag on Route 203.

"So," Barry called out to her, "you ready for this battle?"

She looked at him and gave him a smile. "Mira's ready! Are you?"

From the sidelines, Cheryl and Buck were watching the two of them, waiting for the battle to start.

"Oh, just begin already," Cheryl called out to them. "I've got potions for after the battle, and you two clearly both have Pokemon. I just really wanna see how this plays out."

Mira sighed. "Ugh, fine. Go Abra!"

From the red-topped sphere emerged the yellow Psychic-type Pokemon. As it settled itself floating atop the ground, Barry looked over from his designated side to battle from, the faintest look of surprise on his face.

"What? Going all out right now? I guess so then. Go Starly!"

The Starling Pokemon formed in front of Barry.

"Ooh," Cheryl murmured to Buck, "Mira's already fought my Starly with her Abra as you saw a while back, and she won. Unless Barry has some kind of master tactic, I'm not sure how he's going to win-"

Before Cheryl had even a chance to complete her sentence, the blonde boy cried out to his Pokemon. "Starly, use Double Team!"

The tiny bird began to flap its wings vigorously, slowly becoming airborne in the process.

Mira tilted her head slightly as she looked at the battle playing out. She had learned about the move Double Team before - the Pokemon moves extremely fast so that the foe can't tell where they are - but she had never seen the move itself, and this unnerved her slightly.

The slowness of Starly's ascent, as well as Mira's train of thought, were interrupted by the bird suddenly zipping to... somewhere.

Nobody could tell, since all anyone could see was a black-and-white blur speeding around above them.

Mira's confident smile slowly lose substance, until it vanished altogether.

"Abra," Mira called out, "I don't know how we'll defeat this, but I think I have a small idea. Try charging up a flash!"

The yellow Pokemon nodded, and within its hands began charging a small, white light.

Buck and Cheryl instinctively looked away. Both had witnessed the power of Flash when used offensively instead of to simply light a cave through television shows. Cheryl shielded Turtwig as well, even though it was asleep.

"Right, Abra... now see if you can track the Starly with your psychic power, while keeping your Flash energy in your hands."

Barry looked at Mira's Abra, and pointed to it in the process. "Starly, it seems our original plan of confusing the opponent isn't working. Let's just try finish off this with a Wing Attack!"

Bright energy began dotting through the air, presumably from Starly charging up its Wing Attack.

"Abra!" Mira cried out. "When it dips down to attack, release that Flash!"

The white blur in the air suddenly formed back into a recognisable Pokemon above Abra, but only for a fraction of a second as it made its descent back down to Earth with its wings ready to strike.

Mira, like Cheryl and Buck, looked away as she yelled her next command. "Abra, use Flash now to blind the Starly!"

All four kids didn't dare to look back as Abra released a dazzling light into the air.

When it was safe to glance back again, Mira gasped.

While Starly had landed on the path and seemed completely clueless as to where it was, Abra was collapsed on the ground, completely unable to battle.

"It seems," Buck called out," that while Starly was indeed blinded, the speed it had gained from constantly using Double Team meant that it was already too close to Abra to not miss it. Either way, Mira only has two Pokemon left!"

Mira held out Abra's Poke ball, allowing its limp form to return back inside. From within her bag she selected her next Poke ball without hesitation.

After all, she hadn't seen this Pokemon in action yet.

"Mira may be the first to have lost a Pokemon," she called out to Barry, "but that doesn't mean she will lose the battle so quickly! Go Shinx!"

The sky-blue Electric-type materialised in front of her, and cried out with passion in its tone.

Barry's jaw dropped. "How is my Starly going to defeat-"

"Shinx, Spark!" Mira interrupted.

"Uhh," Barry said, "Starly, try and dodge it! Fly away!"

The small bird attempted to leave the ground, but due to being blinded its feet barely brushed against the floor.

"I don't think," Cheryl mentioned, "that Barry's Starly, being a Flying-type, will have a chance against Shinx, an Electric-type. Electric is super-effective against Flying."

And sure as Cheryl predicted, a bright ball of static electricity collided with the Starly, sending it hurling back into Barry's arms.

Buck grinned at the sight of the exciting battle. "Just as Barry got the advantage, it was stolen away from him by the after-affects of Abra's attack and the typing advantage of Mira's Pokemon - its back onto even ground!"

Cheryl turned to him. "Are you now a commentator or something?"

He shrugged in return. "I'm just enjoying the battle. I tend to get a little over-excited when viewing a battle, and I also can't help but mimic the commentators of the battle section in Hoenn's contests. I guess it's just a strange habit of mine."

"I actually quite like it," Cheryl noted. "It makes the battle a little more exciting."

Barry, despite having just lost his advantage, smiled. "I guess this calls for me to introduce my other new Pokemon to you that I caught on route 204! Budew, let's do this!"

For the first time in a while, what faced Mira was a Pokemon she had never seen before.

What looked to be a small, pastel-yellow seed resided in the middle, with the seed appearing to have two vertical, slit-like eyes and a cute smile. Two grass tendrils surrounded the seed, twisting around each other once before meeting. The tendrils emerged from a miniature, leafy body, with two tiny feet emerging from below it.

"How about that?" Barry called out in excitement. "It's obviously a Grass-type. There's also something else about it... but you'll have to find that out for yourself. Only way for a fair battle, right?"

Mira looked into his eyes deeply. "Well, Mira can try something. Mira knows that Electric moves aren't very effective against Grass-types, so... Shinx, use Bite!"

Mira was expecting Barry to command his Budew to move, but the Grass-type didn't even seem to have an instinct to move away from its assailant.

Shinx, on the other hand, was tearing down the path, fangs bared with a dark energy surrounding them as it prepared to attack. As it did so, a mischievous grin formed on its face.

As Shinx reached the seemingly relaxed Budew, its jaw opened, before abruptly shutting again, catching the Grass-type on its fangs.

While the Budew cried out in pain, it immediately began calming itself down again.

Then the two grass tendrils separated from each other, the ends stabbing into Shinx.

The Electric-type, at that moment, appeared to completely forget that it was attacking its foe and scampered back to Mira, yelping in pain.

"Shinx!" Mira shouted out, "are you ok?"

Shinx looked up at Mira, and tried to give a smile to her, but the smile only managed to last for a fraction of a second before it grimaced. Mira spotted a small purple rash on Shinx's cheek.

Cheryl began whispering to Buck. "I think I know what's happening to Shinx right now. From what my mum always used to tell me, it looks like Mira's Shinx is poisoned."

"Were you expecting that?" Barry told her. "That was my surprise. Despite not looking like it, Budew is also a Poison-type. It's ability is Poison Point - meaning that if the opposing Pokemon physically impacts Budew while it's attacking, then Budew gets a chance to poison it. If the day is warm, it will open up its two grass vines surrounding it and stab them into the opposing Pokemon, injecting toxic pollen into them. Now, Budew, let's finish this off with a Mega Drain!"

A flash of fear appeared in Mira's eyes. "Mira doesn't have any antidotes or berries that can cure poison... Mira will just have to try something else. Shinx, attempt another Bite as best as you can, even if you don't make it through this battle!"

Shinx attempted to perform the same move as it did before to the fast-approaching Grass-and-Poison-type. However, every few paces, it would wince and stop dead in its tracks.

It came so to nobody's surprise, then, when Budew was the first to reach its opponent.

The tendrils unfolded again, and clamped onto Shinx.

At first, the Electric-type tried to struggle, and bite back, but slowly it began to loosen up, and fell to the ground.

Buck continued doing his commentator impression. "It appears that Barry's Budew successfully drained Shinx of its energy after poisoning it, causing Shinx to be unable to battle! Barry is back with an advantage!"

Buck turned back to Cheryl. "Hey, are you alright?"

Cheryl had looked away for a moment. She looked at Buck staring at her. "I'm alright. That part of the battle was just a little too harsh for me. I'm... not a big fan of the poison status condition."

"That was a good attempt, Shinx!" Mira told it. "Come on back now! Go Chimchar!"

The gentle movement of the exhausted Shinx on the floor was replaced with the battle-ready determination of the Fire-type - Mira's last Pokemon.

"That last fight was hard," Mira told Barry, "especially since you poisoned Mira's Shinx and regained the lost energy from Bite with a Mega Drain. But you won't be able to it against this! Chimchar, Ember!"

Chimchar didn't move form the spot it had originally landed on, and fired off a bright fireball of energy at the foe. Barry could see the determination in its eyes, almost as though the bright-orange Pokemon was trying its complete hardest to avenge its fallen allies.

"Budew, dodge!" Barry cried out.

Budew attempted to escape the line of fire the Ember was aimed at, but its little legs just weren't enough to escape a flame charging at it at such a high speed. The impact threw the pastel-green-and-yellow Pokemon to the floor.

"You see?" Mira said. "Because Ember doesn't involve the Pokemon directly coming into contact with Budew, it didn't have a chance to use its special ability. To add on to that, Mega Drain is a Grass-type move, which wouldn't affect Chimchar too much and thus not restore much energy to Budew at all. It also seems that Chimchar had an urge to avenge its fellow team member, which made its attack stronger. Couple that to Grass-types being weak to Fire-type moves and quite honestly, Budew didn't have much chance."

"Darn it!" Barry cried out. "Whenever I get the advantage, I lose it. However, I don't think I will have lost it for much longer, if my training went to plan... go! My last Pokemon, Piplup!"

The fluffy water-type glared at Chimchar as it was released, its stare almost piercing Chimchar with how intense it was.

Buck viewed the situation. "It's water against fire... going by statistics alone, I'd say that Piplup is going to win this."

"I wouldn't say that so fast," Cheryl told him. "The last time those two battled, Chimchar won. I'd say that's just the reason why Piplup is glaring at it with so much hatred and determination - it wants to avenge itself and prove its worth."

"Chimchar!" Mira commanded. "Let's try the same as before. Leer!"

Mira felt a sudden sense of deja vu as Chimchar sped right up to Piplup and glared at it in a similar fashion to how Piplup was currently trying to stab Chimchar with its vision.

However, this time, Piplup didn't waver. The Water-type held its stance, to both Cheryl and Mira's surprise.

"This is what I had been training Piplup to do all this time," Barry explained, "to not be scared of Chimchar. It appears the training worked. And not only that, but I'm now in the perfect position to command my finisher move due to Chimchar being so close! Piplup, use Bubble!"

There was no possible way for Chimchar to escape the onslaught of bubbles that popped upon impact. They weren't just light bubbles - they were extremely fast, plentiful and filled with water. Soon the Fire-type became overwhelmed by the endless stream, and fell onto the path.

Mira stared at the event that just occurred in surprise, despite the typing advantage already being clearly against her.

"Chimchar is unable to battle after that Water-typed attack," Buck said. "Barry wins."

Mira recalled her Chimchar. "That... that was a good battle. Mira wasn't expecting so many twists with typings, training and the moves used, and that made it thrilling! Also, didn't Mira tell you that you'd be able to beat her?"

Barry, who had placed Piplup back inside its Poke ball, shrugged. "I wanted to live up to that claim you made! I thought it might make you a little happier, even if you lost."

"Well, isn't that weird?" Mira told him. "I lost, but I feel really happy."

"That's just Barry's happiness being contagious," Cheryl told them as her and Buck walked over to them, Turtwig in Cheryl's arms. "That's just one way happiness can sometimes work. Either way, I think that we might need to go to the Pokemon centre instead of simply use one of my potions for this battle - that poison rash Mira's Shinx earned isn't going to be healed by simple health restoring sprays. Barry, if you want you can go with us."

Barry nodded. "I might as well go with you. I don't have anything I particularly need to do. And either way, we're just on the outskirts of Jubilife City, so it won't take too long to get back."

* * *

A couple of hours after the group had returned to the red-roofed building and had their Pokemon's ailments cured, the four of them waved goodbye to Jubilife, and headed out on Route 203.

"I got my Budew mostly out of coincidence," Barry explained to the others as a response to a question Cheryl had asked. "I had gotten lost in the city, and thought that when I was leaving for Route 203 I was heading this way, but I actually ended up on Route 204. After realising my mistake, I tried to go back, but then that Budew got in my way. Since I had wanted a new team member, I thought I might as well try to catch it, and the rest you should be able to work out."

"Well," Cheryl said, "I guess Jubilife City being near-impossible to navigate without being there many times before has its advantages."

Barry made to say something else, but was interrupted by Turtwig suddenly snoring.

"Mira still hasn't gotten over," Mira said, "how adorable that is."

* * *

 _As the sun shone down upon Route 203, Mira and Barry had an extremely tense battle! The battle contained many ups and downs as Mira's Shinx battled for the first time and Barry was revealed to have caught both a Starly and a Budew! The battle reached its climax when Chimchar and Piplup faced each other for a rematch, but Piplup's confidence soared, fighting through the Leer that threatened it losing and resulting in a victory for Barry! As our trio and their friend head towards Oreburgh City, what, or even who, will they meet next? The journey continues!_

* * *

 **Hello dear reader! I had a lot of fun writing this part, despite it being mentally challenging. I thought it'd be nice to let Barry win to show that he's definitely a competent trainer, and I gave him a Budew so that he'd evenly match with Mira Pokemon-wise while also having a Pokemon that indeed joins his team later. Overall, I hope you enjoyed it! Next part is gonna feature a new place, a new character and some familiar troublemakers...**


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